West Bengal is poised on the brink of a major constitutional crisis. A dramatic development of events on February 3, precipitated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) knocking on the door of the Kolkata Police Commissioner in connection with the multi-crore Saradha scam, has resulted in an almost complete breakdown of relations between the Trinamool Congress government in the State and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Central government of creating a “super emergency” situation in the country and went on an indefinite “dharna” outside the Metro at Esplanade in Central Kolkata. This was the same place where more than 12 years ago Mamata as an opposition leader had carried out her historic 26-day fast in protest against the then Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government’s forcible land acquisition in Singur for Tata Motors’ small car project.
Around 7 p.m. on Sunday, February 3, a group of CBI officials arrived unannounced at the residence of Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.. When they were refused entry, there ensued a serious faceoff between the State police and the CBI officials, and the latter were unceremoniously shoved into police cars and driven away from there. Soon after that the Chief Minister herself arrived at Rajiv Kumar’s house, and after spending close to two hours in consultation with other top Trinamool leaders and senior police officials, she came out and announced her dharna.
“Every time there is an election, they [the BJP government at the Centre] use the pretext of chit fund scams and just do whatever they want,” said Mamata. She accused National Security Adviser Ajit Doval of being behind these moves. “Whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants, Mr Doval implements. He is the one who is giving instructions to the CBI,” she said.
While the police claimed that the CBI investigators did not have any warrant or documents required to carry out raids or interrogation, the CBI insisted that it had all the necessary papers but the police refused to cooperate. According to reports, CBI interim Director Nageshwar Rao said, “They [Kolkata Police] have taken charge of all the evidence, seized all the documents. They have not been cooperating with us in handing over all the documents and a lot of evidence has been destroyed or caused to disappear.”
The investigating agency said it would approach the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had ordered the CBI to investigate the chit fund scams in West Bengal and the adjoining States.
Mamata said she was there at the Police Commissioner’s residence because it was her “constitutional duty” to protect any officer in her administration. “I run an administration. To protect an officer, I am proud to say, is my constitutional duty, my personal duty and my government’s duty. How can they have the audacity to come on a ‘secret operation’ to the residence of a police officer under whom there are thousands of policemen? …There is total constitutional breakdown,” said Mamata. She said her dharna was for the cause of protecting institutions from the BJP government. “My dharna is to protect Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution. I will sit immediately on dharna and next to it I will set up an office to conduct Cabinet meetings,” she said.
Mamata at the dharna site was reminiscent of the formidable adversary whose dharna in 2008 humbled the mighty Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government in the Assembly election in 2011, ending 34 years of Left Front rule in the State.
As thousands of Mamata’s supporters gathered, chanting slogans of “chowkidar chor hai”, “Mamata Banerjee zindabad”, the Chief Minister and Modi’s most vocal opponent could be heard shouting, “Please save India! Please save our country. Modi has gone mad!” She also said that leaders of several opposition parties, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvid Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chadrababu Naidu, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Ahmed Patel had called her and expressed their support.
As Mamata sat in dharna, her supporters blocked rail and road traffic in different parts of the State in protest against the Centre.
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