The corporate affairs ministry has set up a special task force under the serious fraud investigation office (SFIO) to probe suspected misuse of public money by various chit fund companies. The move comes after the Saradha group, a West Bengal-based chit fund company that had collected hundreds of crores from the poor and small investors in the state, went bust.

In Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a Rs 500-crore payout package, purportedly to give “some relief” to people ruined by the scam.

But with facts emerging that the Trinamool Congress, or at least some of its top leaders, as well as some wings of the central government, knew about the scam, why all the action and reaction now? Is the election season making the Congress and the Trinamool Congress try out the populist measures? Are the governments serious about providing relief to small investors and depositors who might be duped by such dubious operators in future?