Mamata Banerjee vs CBI: Arun Jaitley dubs West Bengal CM's dharna as 'disproportionate over-reaction'
Terming West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's sit-in protest 'over-reaction', Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that the former wants to defocus from other opposition aspirants for the highest office
New Delhi: Union Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday took a swipe at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her sit-in protest against Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) attempt to interrogate Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam, terming her 'dharna' “disproportionate over-reaction”.
Slamming the Trinamool Congress chief in his blog post titled ‘'The Kleptocrat’s Club', Jaitley also questioned Mamata’s motive behind inviting all other Opposition members to join her on the dharna.
“The West Bengal Chit Fund Fraud was unearthed in 2012-13. Its investigations were handed over to the CBI by the Supreme Court. The Court monitored these investigations. The CBI has interrogated and even arrested some people. Many have been granted bail. If a Police Officer is also required to be interrogated, how does it become a “super emergency”, “assault on Federalism”, or “destruction of Institutions”? What is the strategy behind Chief Minister’s disgraceful and disproportionate reaction?,” Jaitley wrote in the blog.
The minister further said that Mamata do attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi in her speeches but her main aim is to defocus some of her other colleagues in the Opposition and hogging the centre stage.
“It would be a gross error to assume that she did this because of a routine investigation involving a Police Officer. She did it to defocus from other opposition aspirants for the highest office and to project herself as the nucleus of India’s opposition,” he added.
Stepping up his attack on Mamata, Jaitley said that preventing a Central investigating agency from discharging a function given to it by the Supreme Court is a “direct assault on federalism”.
Asserting that most Opposition parties supporting West Bengal CM, were investigated, prosecuted and in some cases have also been convicted for crimes of corruption, the BJP leader termed them a “new Kleptocrat’s Club”.
“Her ally from Bihar represents the party of the convicted. The friend from Andhra Pradesh runs a party of contractors, thekhedaars and money-launderers. Her two friends from Uttar Pradesh represent the scandalous legacy of corruption. Her Anarchic brother from the Delhi Government is at his wits end because the penny stock companies of his Ministerial colleagues have been found out,” he added.
Jaitley also took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying, “This somersaulter belongs to the first family of the Congress Party where most members of the family are on bail.”
The Apex Court will on Tuesday hear a CBI plea against Kumar, who is accused of destroying evidence related to the ponzi scheme scam.