Lok Sabha witnesses uproar over Kolkata Police-CBI stand-off

The Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed uproar as opposition parties led by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) protested against the CBI raid in Kolkata, calling it a misuse of the agency against political opponents. This forced Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House for a second time in the pre-lunch session till 2 p.m.

Soon after the House re-assembled at noon, TMC leader Saugata Roy raised the issue and dubbed the situation in West Bengal as a "constitutional crisis". "Around 42 CBI officials went to arrest the Kolkata Police Commissioner (Rajeev Kumar) without previous permission and court notice. The Central government is misusing the CBI against political opponents. They are trying to throttle the opposition's voice," he said.

The Biju Janata Dal's (BJD) Bhratruhari Mahtab echoed Roy's remarks and accused the Centre of using the Central Bureau of Investigation as a weapon against opponents. "Yesterday's incident questions the integrity of the CBI. The manner in which the CBI has been functioning is not professional. We are not in a Banana Republic. This should be stopped," Mahtab said. Recalling how the CBI barged into a judge's office in Odisha recently, he said: "We want the CBI to be a professional institution." Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the government and accused it of trying to finish off the opposition by using the CBI.

He claimed that such incidents were happening in Lucknow, Chennai and several other places. "No party will bow to your illegal measures," he thundered. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, however, refuted the charges and termed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's ongoing sit-in protest in Kolkata as "unprecedented". "The CBI was probing a multi-crore chit fund scam and wanted to interrogate the Kolkata Police chief. Since the scam took place in several states, the case was transferred to the CBI. The tussle between two law enforcement agencies is unfortunate and threatens the federal structure," he said.

The Minister said he had spoken to West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi. "I have asked him to send a report on the issue," he said, urging the state government to cooperate with the CBI probe. As Rajnath Singh was making his statement, TMC members trooped near the Speaker's podium and started sloganeering against the Centre. They were joined by Congress, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Telugu Desam Party members. Amid the din, Speaker Mahajan tried to proceed with the Zero Hour urging the opposition members not to disrupt the proceedings. But they did not relent.

Mahajan then adjourned the House till 2 p.m. Earlier, TMC's Saugata Roy urged the Chair to suspend the Question Hour. Speaker Mahajan did not allow it, instead asked him to raise the issue during Zero Hour. She then proceeded with the Question Hour. Congress member Rajiv Satav, who was to ask the first question, did not do so and instead urged the Speaker to first discuss the Bengal issue raised by Roy.

(With inputs from agencies.)