Opposition parties — except the Left — rallied behind West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee here on Monday and supported her protest against the Centre’s “misuse” of investigating agencies. Both the Houses of Parliament witnessed disruptions and adjournments over the issue.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted that he spoke to the Trinamool Congress chief and told her that the entire Opposition stands shoulder-to-shoulder with her. “The happenings in Bengal are a part of the unrelenting attack on India’s institutions by Modi and the BJP. The entire Opposition will stand together and defeat these fascist forces,” he said.
BJD’s stand
TMC leader in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien, told reporters that apart from Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, Samjwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Opposition leader Tejaswi Yadav, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, DMK President MK Stalin and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have supported the protest and spoken to Mamata. The Biju Janata Dal supported the fight against using the CBI for political benefits, but refused to side with Mamata Banerjee on the issue. The TRS has also taken a nuanced position on the matter.
‘Diverting public attention’
Terming the developments as ominous, Banerjee’s bête-noire CPI(M) said it happened hours after “the historic” and massive rally at Brigade Parade Grounds by the Left Front. It is also aimed at diverting public attention from the rising protests by the people of West Bengal against both the BJP and the TMC, it said. The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) reiterated that all those guilty of the public loot must be brought to book, their properties confiscated and monies swindled from the people returned with interest.
Within the Congress too, there are different voices, as leaders of the West Bengal unit asked why Rajeev Kumar, the accused police officer, is not submitting himself before the CBI.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, senior Trinamool MP Saugata Roy said the Centre was “misusing” the CBI to politically capture the State. “We are not a banana republic,” BJD leader in the House Bhartruhari Mahtab said. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said similar incidents have happened not only in West Bengal but also in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
In Rajya Sabha too, TMC members started protests against the alleged misuse of the CBI. O’Brien demanded that the matter be discussed but Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the issue can be raised during Zero Hour.