Mamata vs Centre : No coercive action but SC asks Kolkata top cop to appear before CBI
Delhi: The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal got a major relief from the Supreme Court Tuesday as the top court restrained the CBI from taking coercive steps against Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, including arresting him. The court, however, issued notice to the West Bengal government on the CBI’s petition.
The central agency has accused Kumar of “non-cooperation” in its investigation in the Saradha chit funds case and alleged he “destroyed, destructed and tampered with the material primary evidence” while handing over the same to the agency. A bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi will hear the matter again on February 20.
In an affidavit to the Supreme Court Tuesday, the CBI accused Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar of “conniving with the accused/potential accused persons” and was “actively subverting the investigation process”. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, welcomed the verdict and said it was a victory of the people.
TMC, BJP hand in gloves in sharing spoils of ponzi scam: Yechury
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the Supreme Court order showed both the BJP and the TMC its place and that the two parties were hand in gloves in “sharing the spoils” of the chit fund scam. Yechury said he did not find anything wrong in the way the CBI had embarked on the investigation into the scam in Kolkata. “In this instance when the judiciary orders the CBI to investigate a case, the CBI’s movement in the investigation into any state or territory cannot be construed as an attack on the authority or the powers of the state government,” he told reporters.
Rajya Sabha adjourned for second day in a row
Rajya Sabha proceedings were washed out for the second day in a row on Tuesday amid protests by Opposition parties, including TMC, SP and Congress, over alleged misuse of the CBI in West Bengal. As soon as the House resumed proceedings in the afternoon, members of the TMC, SP and Congress trooped into the well, raising slogans like “Save Constitution, Save Nation”.
Shahnawaz Hussain denied permission for Murshidabad rally
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain has been denied permission to hold a rally in Murshidabad in West Bengal.
Even as uncertainty prevailed over Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Purulia rally in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee fired a salvo at the BJP leader, asking him to take care of matters related to his state first. “Ask Yogi to take care of Uttar Pradesh first. So many people have been killed, even police were murdered, so many people were lynched, he himself will lose if he contests elections. He doesn’t have a place to stand in UP that’s why he’s roaming around in Bengal,” she said.
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