The Supreme Court said no coercive steps, including Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar's arrest, will take place during the course of the investigation.
The Supreme Court's direction that no coercive steps, including the arrest of Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, will take place during the course of investigation is 'our moral victory', West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday, February 5.
The Bharatiya Janata Party too projected the apex court order as a moral victory for the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad welcomed the order and said it is a blow to the Mamata Banerjee government and a victory for the CBI. It also showed that nobody is above the law, including the police commissioner, he added.
The Supreme Court directed Rajeev Kumar to make himself available before the CBI and 'faithfully' cooperate with the agency in investigation of cases arising out of the Saradha chit fund scam probe.
The court said no coercive steps, including Kumar's arrest, will take place during the course of the investigation.
Banerjee is on a dharna against the CBI's attempt to question the Kolkata police chief in connection with chit fund scams. Her protest entered the third day on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court order is a victory of the common man, democracy and the Constitution, Banerjee told reporters at the dharna venue in central Kolkata.
'There must be some story behind this. Nobody can dare to speak against (Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas) Modi. Ours is a mass agitation and we are going to fight it unitedly,' the chief minister said.
Banerjee sat on a 'Save India' dharna in front of the Metro cinema in the heart of Kolkata on Sunday night, insisting that the CBI action was tantamount to stifling the spirit of the 'Constitution and federalism' in the country.
'We always respect the law and feel that things should run as per the law. But if someone tries to destroy the pillars on which democracy stands, then there would be nothing left of the democratic process that we are so proud of,' she added.
'We really welcome the (Supreme Court) verdict. It is absolutely correct. Our case is very strong. We never said we will not cooperate. This is political vendetta,' Banerjee said.
Several Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Telugu Desam Party chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the DMK's Kanimozhi, the RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, have supported Banerjee's protest.
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