Mamata claims “victory”, ends dharna

Published : Feb 06, 2019 13:49 IST

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu at the dharna site in Kolkata on February 5.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu at the dharna site in Kolkata on February 5.

After two days of sitting in an “indefinite dharna” in Kolkata in protest against the Central Bureau of Investigation arriving at the door of the Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, in connection with the Saradha deposit collection scam, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ended her agitation on February 5 following an order from the Supreme Court forbidding the arrest of the police officer.

On February 4, the CBI moved the Supreme Court, and the following day a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi directed Rajeev Kumar to appear before the CBI and to “faithfully cooperate” with the investigating agency at all times. The court also made it clear that “no coercive steps including arrest shall be taken against the Commissioner of Police”. As per the court’s directions, Rajeev Kumar will have to appear before the CBI in Shillong, capital of Congress-ruled Meghalaya, so as to “avoid all unnecessary controversy”.

The main allegation against Rajeev Kumar is suppressing and destroying key evidence in the Saradha case while heading a Special Investigating Team (SIT) set up by the West Bengal government in 2013 after the Saradha scam hit the state, ruining lakhs of investors who belonged mainly to the poorer sections of society. In 2014, the CBI took over the case at the direction of the Supreme Court. Several top leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress, including MPs and a senior Cabinet Minister, were also accused in the case and were put behind bars. According to the CBI, in spite of repeated notices to Rajeev Kumar and members of the SIT, the investigating agency did not receive any cooperation from the State police.

On February 3, CBI officials arrived at the residence of Rajeev Kumar, but were forcibly stopped by the police from meeting him. In the scuffle that followed, the CBI officials were unceremoniously bundled into police cars and whisked away from the place. The Supreme Court also directed the Chief Secretary of the State, the Director General of Police and the Police Commissioner to reply, by February 18, to the contempt petition filed by the CBI.

The Supreme Court’s order that Rajeev Kumar was not to be arrested was interpreted by Mamata as a victory for her over the Central government. “It is a moral victory for the people of Bengal; a moral victory for the people of the country,” she said. Addressing the crowd, with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu by her side, she said, “This was dharna to save India, save the Constitution, save the federal set up and we held protest under the banner of Save India.” She claimed she was calling off the agitation at the request of the other opposition parties that had responded to her call for a “mahagathbandhan” (mega alliance) rally against the BJP on January 19. “On behalf of 23 political parties we urge her to withdraw her dharna. Everyone feels that Madam [Mamata Banerjee] should end the dharna. We will take up the issue again in Delhi,” said Chandrababu Naidu.

The BJP viewed the apex court order as a setback for the Trinamool Congress. “I am thankful to the Supreme Court that now the Police Commissioner will have to face the CBI in Shillong. Now it will be revealed who all were involved in the Saradha [scam],” said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a rally in Purulia district. “The political histrionics of Mamata Banerjee were brought to a screeching halt by the honourable Supreme Court of India,” said Union Textiles Minister Smirti Irani.

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