'Mamata is on a dharna because something is fishy'

'She is worried that the small fry have been caught, soon the big fish too will be caught.'

In a dramatic showdown with the Narendra Damodardas Modi government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has begin a Save The Constitution dharna after a standoff between the Kolkata police and Central Bureau of Investigation officers on Sunday, February 3.

The CBI officers wanted to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar over two chit fund scams, but Bureau agents were instead taken to a local police station and detained.

Banerjee later staged a dharna and blamed the Centre for 'a total Constitutional breakdown'.

The chief minister also alleged that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was directing the CBI to harass political opponents on the prime minister's orders.

"If Mamata Banerjee's team is so clean, then let them face the charges in court and come out clean," Dilip Ghosh -- president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's West Bengal unit who declared that Mamata could be prime minister last month -- tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

Mamata Banerjee alleges that the CBI is acting on Prime Minister Modi and (BJP national President) Amit (Anilchandra) Shah's instructions.

She is saying that she is on a dharna to save democracy whereas the fact is that she has already killed democracy in West Bengal.

The other statement she makes is she is sitting on a dharna to save the Constitution of India, but the fact is that she is trying to save her favourite police officers and Trinamool Congress politicians from the CBI.

The people of Bengal know that TMC leaders are corrupt and they were wondering why the CBI was not investigating them in the chit fund scam.

Since the CBI is taking against these corrupt politicians, the people of Bengal are happy.

Did CBI officials go to Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar's home to arrest him? Did they have the required documents to question Kumar?

Who said the CBI went to arrest the Kolkata police commissioner?

These are lies spread by Mamata Banerjee.

The CBI had gone to ask him some questions regarding the chit fund scam.

The police commissioner was sent a notice three times by the CBI to come to their office to answer some questions in the scam.

But he did not go and meet the CBI on Mamata Banerjee's instructions.

So what option did the CBI have?

They went to his house to question him.

When they (the CBI) are doing it, they (the TMC) say the CBI has no right to question the commissioner of police.

Is West Bengal not a part of India?

It is said the BJP is targeting the Mamata Banerjee government and its officers because she denied permission for BJP rallies.

There is no truth in these false allegations.

The CBI inquiry is going on the instructions of the Supreme Court.

This is going on for the last four years.

(Rashtriya Janata Dal chief) Lalu Yadav is in jail because of the CBI.

(The late Tamil Nadu chief minister) Jayalalithaa too was in jail.

Even Amit Shah went to the jail because of the CBI.

The same CBI even interrogated Narendra Modi when he was chief minister of Gujarat and he cooperated in the investigations.

But here Mamata Banerjee is taking out a morcha.

Opposition leaders claim that the BJP is intentionally targeting Mamata Banerjee as she successfully brought 20 anti-BJP leaders on one stage at the mega rally on January 19.

This has nothing to do with the Opposition rally.

Rajeev Kumar was the head while investigating the chit scams.

Since he did not cooperate, the CBI went to his home to ask questions.

It is their right to do so.

The CBI even went after (Congress leader) P Chidambaram and asked him questions in his case.

How can a chief minister of a state reach an officer's home and arrest CBI officers?

What kind of rule is this?

Now it has turned into a Centre versus state face-off.

It is not against any minister, but against an officer.

She (Mamata Banerjee) is trying to save him.

She is worried that ab kaan pakda hai, bahut jald sar bhi aa jayega haath mein (the small fry have been caught, soon the big fish too will be caught).

Rajeev Kumar was heading this chit scam investigation which was leading nowhere.

When people went to the Supreme Court demanding a CBI inquiry, it was granted by the court.

When the CBI was asking for files of the case, Rajeev Kumar has been making them run from pillar to post for more than a year and not giving them the files.

Supreme Court ne bhi Rajeev Kumar ko phatkara iss barey mein (even the Supreme Court has reprimanded Rajeev Kumar in the matter).

Files relating to chit fund scams are missing because of Rajeev Kumar, and Mamata Banerjee is supporting him.

The people of West Bengal are seeing all this.

People have come out on the roads to support Mamata Banerjee.

The people of Bengal want the Supreme Court order to be followed.

15 lakh people lost money in the chit fund scam.

Rs 80,000 crore has disappeared.

These officers who are close to Mamata Banerjee are protecting scamsters.

TMC MPs and MLAs have gone to jail in this case.

The Saradha scam was too exposed.

Therefore, the TMC now wants to target the CBI.

Isn't the timing of the CBI's action against Rajeev Kumar questionable?

Who took action against Lalu Yadav?

Did the BJP do it? No. The action was taken by the CBI when the BJP was not ruling at the Centre.

The same was with Jayalalitha's case.

When the CBI took action against Amit Shah he went to jail. The BJP did not begin a morcha and soon the truth came out.

If Mamata Banerjee's team is so clean, then let them face the charges in court and come out clean.

She is not allowing that to happen.

Mamata is on a dharna because daal mein kuch kaala hai (there is something fishy).