Mukul Roy sends notice to Bengal minister

Majumdar said Deb had been asked to apologise publicly for the derogatory comments,failing which he would file a civil and criminal defamation suit.

Left Front chairman Biman Bose said Deb had made the allegations as he was aware of the facts. We will inform the Election Commission about the details, he said.

The CPM had used a helicopter once to fly an ailing Jyoti Basu during the election campaign. We know how much it costs to use an helicopter. We know for sure that two helicopters were booked in the name of Mamata Banerjee and Mukul Roy. To book a helicopter,one needs to pay on an hourly-basis even when it is grounded. So your guess is as good as mine on the costs. It might go into crores, Bose said.

Mamata had claimed on Sunday that the choppers had been provided by the Congress.

The CPM state committee,meanwhile,submitted a written complaint to Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Kumar Gupta,alleging that the Trinamool was using black money in its election campaigns.