Not my money: Partha. What took so long: TMC

Kolkata: "Amar noy, amar noy, amar noy (not mine, not mine, not mine)," former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee told newspersons on Sunday, referring to the money seized by the ED from various locations associated with his alleged "close associate" Arpita Mukherjee over the course of about a week.
The vociferous denial, coming eight days since Chatterjee's arrest and the recovery of around Rs 50 crore in cash, immediately came in for sharp criticism from the Trinamool Congress.
"What took him so long to say this?" Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, refusing to give any credence to Chatterjee's statement, and questioning Chatterjee's delayed response. "When he first had the opportunity, why didn't he say that this was a conspiracy, and the money wasn't his? When a decision has been taken by the party, it is not possible for us to react to everything he says now. At this rate, he might even say that he doesn't know who Partha Chatterjee is. Or maybe that he doesn't know Arpita Mukherjee." Ghosh added.
Around 1.50pm at the ESI Hospital in Joka, Chatterjee looked relatively calm while getting off the ED's SUV, guarded by central forces, as he was led to the hospital check-up room. When asked about the ownership of the crores of money that were recovered, he answered: "Amar kono taka neyi (None of it is my money)". Chatterjee also repeated that it was all a "conspiracy" against him, but again refused to name anyone. "Shomoy elei bujhe jaben (You will know when the time comes)," he said.
The first time Chatterjee had commented on the cash seizures was on Thursday, when he said he was a "victim of conspiracy." He had also expressed his frustration at being dropped from the state cabinet and suspended from the party, saying it might impact an "independent probe."
Ghosh's statement on Sunday, too, was a reiteration of the party line: that the onus of proving his innocence lay with Chatterjee himself. "Let him say whatever he has to say in court. Now evidence, photographs, deeds, fingerprints... everything has surfaced. He should have said this the first time." Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy, too, said something similar: "Let him say all this in court. He is now in ED custody. There is no importance of such statements made during custody," he said, adding, "His own doing has brought a bad name to the party. We do not want to give any importance to his statements."
The ED will produce Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee in a Kolkata court on August 3 (Wednesday). They have a scheduled medical check-up at ESI Joka hospital on Tuesday.