Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, on the 5th of February, called off her dharna (strike) against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in West Bengal.
Ms. Banerjee was on a strike since the 3rd of February, to protest against the CBI, who alleged Rajiv Kumar, the Kolkata Police Commissioner, of manipulating evidence in the Saradha Group and the Rose Valley Ponzi Scheme scams which came to light in 2013. The CBI claimed, Mr. Kumar, who was investigating the scam, tampered with the evidence and helped the main accused.
The Rose Valley Group allegedly floated 27 companies and did a scam of approximately Rs. 40,000. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also claimed, certain political parties were involved in the scam. Apart from West Bengal, Assam and Bihar were also affected by the scam.
The Saradha Group scam was one of the biggest chit fund scams in West Bengal. The Company duped approximately 1.4 million investors by collecting an amount of approximately Rs.1,200 crores from them. The scam ended when the Company shut down in 2013. Apart from West Bengal, the individuals and companies belonging to Tripura, Jharkhand, Assam and Odisha were also affected.
The allegations against Rajiv Kumar (about tampering with evidence in the chit fund scams) were denied by the State Government and the Kolkata Police, following which the CBI moved the Supreme Court (SC.) Mamata Banerjee, in order to protest against the CBI, who asked Mr. Kumar to be present at the CBI Office on the 20th of February, in Shillong, Meghalaya.
The three day protest ended after the SC ordered the CBI not to take any violent measures against Rajiv Kumar. The SC also ordered Mr. Kumar to cooperate with the CBI in investigating the scam. The SC said, Mr. Kumar will not go to the CBI office in Shillong, Meghalaya on the 20th of February, but submit all the evidence related to the chit fund scam.
Ms. Banerjee deemed the decision as a moral victory and said, “They (CBI) wanted to arrest him (Rajiv Kumar.) They went to his house on a secret operation, without any notice. That court said ‘no arrest’, we are so obliged.”
Ms. Banerjee said, she will continue her protest in Delhi. She addressed the public in Esplanade, West Bengal and announced, “We are not stopping the fight, we are taking it to Delhi.”
Opposition parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD,) the Telugu Desam Party (TDP,) the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) extended their support to the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress (TMC.)
N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the leader of the TDP, and Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD leader, reached Kolkata on the 5th of February and supported Ms. Banerjee’s ‘Save the Constitution’ rally.
Mr. Naidu said, “Democracy is at stake in India under the Modi regime. All of us have to unite to save democracy and the people of the Country.”
Tejashwi Yadav also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, “Modi is using central agencies to harass opposition leaders who are criticising his undemocratic actions and policies.”
Apart from parties like the DMK, the RJD and the TDP, Rahul Gandhi, the Indian National Congress (INC) leader, and Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, also sent supportive messages to Mamata Banerjee.
The ‘Save the Constitution’ rally, organised by the Mamata Banerjee led TMC with the support of the opposition parties, is scheduled to be held on the 13th and 14th of February.
Stay tuned for further updates.
