Intro: After alleging CBI for losing its credentials, Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has now presented the Nun rape case for CBI probe soon after being gheraoed on the street by common people for not submitting the case.
Political observers considered Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee’s submission for handing over the case to the CBI as ‘Master Stroke’. Before we go into the matter, let us look back at the incident which took place on March 14 this year and even after the lapse of long five days the police and the administration could not do anything tangible so that the aggrieved persons could be allowed to take a sigh of relief. Although CCTV footage was there to nail down the culprits, the police was unable to trace out even the whereabouts of them and surprisingly enough no action has yet been taken against those hooligans. On the part of the administration, it seemed, everything was taken for granted. In fact the Chief Minister herself was busy in guarding the law-keeping officers let alone they were kicked out with suspension order.
| Mamata against the CBI: “We do not want a Congress Bureau of Investigation and CPM Bureau of Investigation to teach us human rights.” —Brigade Parade Ground, January 30, 2014 “Earlier I respected CBI, not anymore.” —Howrah, April 27, 2014 “Industrialists are being harassed in the name of questioning by the CBI. This is being done to scare away investors from Bengal.” —Calcutta, October 21, 2014 “A BJP leader gave the sequence of arrests. The CBI is acting as per that sequence.” —Nabanna Secretariat of West Bengal after the arrest of Transport Minister Madan Mitra on December 12, 2014 “The CBI has lost all credentials. They have become His Master’s Voice.” —Kolkata Maidan, December 13, 2014 “The CBI is being used for political vendetta. People who are working transparently are being branded thieves and the real thieves are running the country.” —New Delhi, December 18, 2014 |
On March 17, she went to Ranaghat and perhaps she thought that her presence would help diffusing the tension prevailing there. But it did not happen. In fact, she was ‘gheraoed’ by the local people, students, girls and villagers who gathered spontaneously. For about an hour she was blocked there. NH 34 was virtually freezed. Mamata, as usual, started abusing and threatening the gathering there. Nothing helped. They wanted immediate action against the culprits of nun rape case. They have further conveyed to the Chief Minister that they have no faith in the State police officers, CID, or the other branches of police. Chief Minister was blaming the BJP and CPM for all this. But the fact remains that this was for the first time Mamata was gheraoed on the street of her own State, for so long a period.
Ultimately Mamata has fallen back on the CBI to probe the Ranaghat atrocity, executing a stunning somersault that betrayed tactical fault lines, a damage-control exercise and a calculated attempt to build a blame-absorbing buffer.
And Day of Wonder
Wednesday’s (March 17, 2015) tweet by Mamata on the Ranaghat attack:-
“Considering the seriousness and sensitivity of the case I have decided to entrust the investigation of that case to CBI.”
“Our government will provide all necessary co-operation and assistance to the CBI for investigation in this case.”
“Police are making their best efforts. Considering the fact that the place very close to border area I have decided to entrust case to CBI.”(Quoted from The Telegraph, Kolkata)
Political observers, of course, have placated this move of Mamata as a frantic effort. The criticism of incompetence of her police force is too much obvious for which she is solely responsible as she holds the Home Ministry and so she was put in a tight corner.
By surrendering to CBI Mamata has admitted that her police is totally incompetent to tackle such situation as the latest one at Ranaghat. She has further admitted although in a round about manner, her government is running for the hooligans and anti-social elements and not for the general mass. Hence she is fast losing her popularity.
Of late, she has come to understand that abusing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not give her any mileage even in Bengal. Hence BJP leader Siddhartha Nath Singh’s slogan “Bhag Mamata Bhag” is not only gaining ground, the pace of this slogan’s popularity is so much that Mamata herself has become scared.
—Asim Kumar Mitra from Kolkata
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