NN Exclusive | Piyush Goyal says Mamata Banerjee scared of CBI investigation, Modi's popularity in Bengal

Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday slammed the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal for bodily preventing a CBI team from entering Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s residence by police personnel. In an exclusive interview with News Nation, Goyal said Banerjee was scared of the CBI investigation into alleged ponzi scams at Saradha and Rose Valley groups. Goyal said the situation in West Bengal is "unfortunate".

A political firestorm raged on Monday as Banerjee's sit-in protest against CBI's bid to question Kolkata police chief in chit fund scam cases entered the second day, with the West Bengal Chief Minister declaring her agitation to save the "Constitution and country" will go on and she was ready to face the consequences. Virtually all opposition parties rallied behind Banerjee's direct confrontation with the Modi government, even as the BJP called it an "alliance of corrupt" and Home Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that developments in West Bengal were indicative of a "breakdown of the Constitution".

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“We (the Centre) never interferred in the CBI’s work. Prime Minister Narendra Modi always wanted to let the ED and CBI work independently. But the way things are unfolding in West Bengal, it’s really unfortunate,” the finance minister said.   

Goyal said Banerjee has every right to protest, but when a chief minister sits on a ‘dharna’, the law and order situation gets affected. “This is probably the time a central investigating agency is being barred from doing its work by a state government,” added Goyal.

Goyal said the action by the Bengal government shows the Trinamool Congress was worried about the growing popularity of PM Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah in the state.

“The BJP may repeat the Tripura magic in West Bengal as well. The Trinamool Congress is worried about that,” said Goyal.