There is no more obscurity about the intention. The war cries have become loud and shrill and reverberating in the battle field of Bengal. Undeniably the first assault has been launched by home minister Amit Shah.
With a gullible Governor Jagdeep Dhankar on his side, willing to allow his office to be used for serving his interest, Shah on Monday directed the caged parrot, the CBI, to chuck on Mamata by arresting her three ministers in the Narada case. The CBI had obtained Governor’s sanction. In conformity with the Constitutional provisions Dhankar should have taken the decision in consultation with the cabinet of ministers. But in his zest to serve his political masters, he eluded the Constitutional procedure.
Yet another interesting aspect is that while the CBI had already charge-sheeted the four leaders, it approached the court seeking their custody. It was this move of the CBI that thwarted their scheme. The court of CJM sought to know why the CBI was seeking custody when the charge-sheet has already been filed. The inability of the CBI to place a plausible answer made the court grant bail to the four leaders.
The complicity of the CBI to provide cover and protect two other former TMC leaders, now the public faces of the BJP, Mukul Roy and Subhendu Adhikari, also figured. In the sting operation which was carried out by journalist Mathew Samuel for Tehelka these two leaders had featured prominently in the clip accepting bribes. Samuel seeks to know why the CBI did not arrest these two leaders. Is it only for the reason that they are now in BJP and the washing machine of BJP has cleaned their sin.
Meanwhile, the bail granted to ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra, and former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chattopadhyay, was stayed by the Calcutta High Court late on Monday evening. The four TMC leaders will now be in jail custody till the next hearing in the case on Wednesday. The arrested leaders were produced at Bankshall Court through a virtual hearing from Nizam Palace earlier in the evening and granted bail. The CBI then moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the move and their bail order was stayed.
Earlier TMC advocate Kalyan Banerjee alleged that the governor was being “vindictive” in his actions. “The governor is unhappy with the mandate that Mamata Banerjee got this time. SC made a judgment during COVID-19 times that police can’t unnecessarily detain, arrest any person. Despite that, CBI & police have arrested (our members)”.
During the day Mamata, sat on dharna at the CBI office for six hour offering herself to be arrested. She also cautioned Narendra Modi to restrain his lieutenant from resorting to such nasty activities. His actions were worsening the political scenario in the state.
Behind the furtive of his disappearance from the public glare for nearly a month, the riveting feature has been the intensity of Amit Shah’s hatred and obsession against Mamata Banerjee. He used the indolent period to formulate a sound strategy to throw out Mamata Banerjee from power.
Just before this one action of Shah, which did not receive much public attention, was to provide central security cover to his party’s legislators in Bengal on the plea that violence has turned endemic and life of the people is not safe. His action is against the basic tenets of the federal character but it got sunk in the cacophony of political violence that was created by Dhankar.
No doubt post poll violence had taken place, but Amit Shah took to this step after normalcy was restored, which was even acknowledged by the Calcutta High Court. Nevertheless an insight would reveal that he resorted to this scheming only for preparing the ground for dismissal of Mamata government and vilify her as a failed administrator. None can deny that he has really set the worst political precedent.
How could he forget that any other government coming to power in future will not pander in this game? He also cannot live in a make believe world that BJP would again come to power in 2024 general election. Predictions and perceptions of Shah have always gone wrong. His strong arm tactics or gang of vigilantes cannot vouch that they will succeed once again.
By resorting to this move he is laying dangerous new doctrines in Centre-state relations, in security management, in inter-personal relations and trust between state police personnel and central paramilitary personnel. In this connection the experiences of the super cop Julio Rebiero ought to be shared.
Usually the central forces work under the command and control of the police hierarchy of that state. But these forces will be independent and will be free to indulge in any kind activity. The state police officials would not have any check under the law on them. Shah also conspired to use this opportunity to denigrate the state police and make them look like second grade police force. In fact through this action Shah was only communalising the central forces.
There is little doubt that Amit Shah through his actions has not only been endangering the democratic structure of the country, giving a bad name to the NDA rule, but in true sense was also maligning the political image of his leader Narendra Modi. People are aware that whatever Amit Shah does has got the approval of Modi. It is an open secret that Amit Shah strongly believes in the politics of revenge and it is he who inspired the governor to give a bad name to Mamata. Nonetheless the state leaders should have told Shah that the Dhankar had played a major role in alienating the Bengali intellectuals and academic from the BJP.
Only a week back he went to Cooch Behar. Apparently there was no reason for Dhankhar to visit the place which had witnessed killing of four TMC workers by the central force CISF. The peace has been restored. Nevertheless his primary mission behind visiting the place was to create pressure on the CID which has been probing the firing and has summoned four CISF officers for interrogation. He also went to Assam to meet family members of some BJP cadres who had taken shelter in the camp in that state. It is interesting to watch that these people were waiting in the camp for the arrival of Dhankar. The most disgraceful act on his part was he did not meet the families of four youths of Sitalkuchi who had fallen to CISF bullets on April 10 during polls. Neither did he meet the kin of Ananda Barman, a youth shot on the same day in a clash in another poll booth.
One would appreciate Dhankar posing tough questions to the state government. But it is beyond comprehension how could he violate the official and constitutional norms to serve the interest of his party, the BJP. It is indeed matter of shame that he did not bother to care for the dignity of the constitutional post he holds. (IPA Service)
