CBI vs Mamata: Unprecedented situation in Bengal, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the situation in West Bengal is unprecedented and there may be a constitutional breakdown in the state in the wake of the ongoing tussle between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Kolkata Police. He also asserted that the Centre has the power to take action. An all-out war broke out between the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee government on Sunday over the CBI’s attempt to question the Kolkata Police commissioner in connection with chit fund scams.

There was a loud din in the Lok Sabha and calls of ‘CBI tota hai’ (CBI is a parrot) as the opposition protested against the Central leadership prompting Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House till 2 pm.

Making a statement in Lok Sabha on the prevailing situation in Kolkata, Singh described the action against the CBI probe team, which went to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, as “unprecedented” and a threat to the federal political system of the country.

“There may be a constitutional breakdown in West Bengal...  under the Constitution, the central government has been vested with the power to maintain normalcy in any part of the country,” he said.