The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday sought Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla’s sanction to prosecute three Trinamool Congress MPs and a former parliamentarian belonging to the party in connection with the Narada sting operation case, PTI reported.

The MPs named are Saugata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh and Prasun Banerjee, and the former parliamentarian is Suvendu Adhikari, according to NDTV. Adhikari is now the state transport minister in the Mamata Banerjee government.

If the sanction is granted, the investigating agency may name the four politicians in its chargesheet, PTI quoted unidentified officials as saying.

In March 2016, not long before the West Bengal Assembly elections, Narada News released videos that purportedly showed several Trinamool leaders accepting cash in return for favours. The Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee then sought an explanation from the five Trinamool legislators seen in the clips. The following month, the High Court set up a three-member committee to keep evidence from the investigation “in safe custody”.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the sting operation was a conspiracy hatched against her government and party members before the elections. In June 2017, she ordered a Kolkata Police inquiry into the case.

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