By Priya Ranjan Sahu
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday sent its sleuths to arrest the police commissioner of Kolkata in connection with the alleged chit fund scam in the state. Kolkata police hit back by arresting the CBI sleuths instead.
Throwing her weight behind police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee sat on dharna along with thousands of Trinamool Congress supporters triggering a direct confrontation between the Narendra Modi led central government and the West Bengal government. The incident has also led to a constitutional crisis relating to Centre-state relations in the federal structure of India.
Banerjee accused Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah of trying to take control of the state by foul means. “Just because I organised the United India Rally, I am being targeted. You have seen the speech of PM. The language he used is not befitting of a Prime Minister. He had threatened yesterday only that the CBI will be used,” she said on Sunday. “2019 – BJP finish. Their expiry date has arrived.”
She said that her agitation was to save democracy, the Constitution and the country, and her struggle would continue till the situation was resolved.
BJP MP in Rajya Sabha and actress-turned politician Roopa Ganguly alleged that the abuse of police power by Banerjee would prove costly to her. In a tweet, Ganguly wrote in Bangla “….police taakey shodh debey (police will avenge the manner she abused them)”.
In a series of tweets, another BJP leader from West Bengal and Union minister Babul Supriyo has demanded imposition of President’s Rule in West Bengal. “President’s Rule should be imposed on West Bengal to control this ‘Rogue’ #TMchhi Govt under a corrupt CM MamtaBanerjee•This is a constitutional crisis ‘created’ by Mamta to shield her corrupt & tainted accomplices,” Supriyo said in one his tweets.
However, Banerjee has got support from most of the opposition parties. Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that his party stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the West Bengal chief minister. “The happenings in Bengal are a part of the unrelenting attack on India’s institutions by Mr Modi & the BJP…The entire opposition will stand together & defeat these fascist forces,” Gandhi tweeted.
National Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in a tweet said, “ #Assualtondemocracy – blatant misuse of CBI in #WestBengal to intimidate the opposition and settle political scores.”
On the other hand, former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H.D. Devegowda said that the action of the CBI team against the police chief in Kolkata reminded him of the darker days of Emergency in the country. While expressing shock over the CBI action, Gowda opined that there is a lurking danger to the democracy and one should join together to protect it.
The confrontation between Modi and Banerjee was reflected in Parliament on Monday where BJD leader in Lok Sabha Bhartruhari Mahtab accused the central government of using the CBI as an instrument to target political opponents. The Rajya Sabha on Monday was adjourned amid uproar by Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties over the ‘misuse’ of the CBI by the Centre in West Bengal.
In its defence, the CBI said it was proceeding against the Kolkata police commissioner as directed by the Supreme Court. CBI joint director Pankaj Srivastava said that Kumar was not cooperating with the CBI in connection with two ponzi scams. “We did not need any court order to go to police commissioner’s residence. We are investigating under the directions of the Supreme Court,” he said.
But the CBI’s defence is cutting not much ice considering the fact that the investigating agency has suffered lot of damage to its credibility in the past four years, according to political observers.
The CBI has been investigating the chit fund scam in West Bengal and Odisha for a long time. After the Modi government came to power, the CBI summoned many political leaders in both the states. The common people were elated when few political leaders were arrested initially because it is common knowledge that many influential political leaders were the beneficiaries of chit fund money.
But in few months, the initial enthusiasm of the CBI evaporated and investigation seemed to remain in a limbo. This led many observers to believe that the BJP was using the probing agency only to settle political score, extract its own pound of flesh and build its own base in both the state. Interestingly, in West Bengal, many influential TMC leaders who were under CBI scanner found safe refuge in the BJP after joining the party and are no more hounded by the CBI. This has also created an impression among people that the CBI is being used for politics.
“The Centre should remember that it has CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department, the state governments have also their own police, vigilance department and other enforcement mechanism. When the Centre can use the CBI or ED in its political war, a party in the state can also use its police or vigilance against the BJP leaders,” said a BJD leader in Odisha.
Recently, when the CBI summoned two BJD leaders in connection with chit fund scam, in no time two BJP leaders in the state were summoned by the state police in connection with a murder case.
Observers feel the face-off between Modi government and Mamata government is more of a political fight than curbing corruption. Not only Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desham Party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu has also said that he will not allow the CBI to enter his state. Misuse of central investigating agencies against political opponents may be counterproductive if more regional satraps follow suit. Such an eventuality, observers say, will only make India’s federal structure fragile.
(With agency inputs)
