Two stories of fresh standoff between Mamata-Centre

New Delhi, Feb 04: West Bengal has become a political hotbed just ahead of the upcoming Lok Saba elections after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Central Government and Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have once again locked horns.

The state grabbed national headlines after a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team was detained by Kolkata Police on Sunday.

The story so far

A team of CBI officers was stopped from entering the residence of Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar here on Sunday when they had gone to question him in connection with chit fund scam cases.

A virtual showdown ensued as Kolkata Police personnel forcefully took away some of the CBI officers to a nearby police station amid commotion.

After the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee swung into action and sat on an indefinite Save the Constitution' dharna at ​Kolkata's Metro Channel station.

On Monday, the battle moved to the courts. While the CBI moved the Supreme Court, the West Bengal government moved the Calcutta High Court.

The CBI moved a petition in the Supreme Court seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against the West Bengal Government officials and police for obstructing the Supreme Court directed the CBI probe in West Bengal chit fund cases.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta alleged before a Bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjeev Khanna that Kolkatas top cop has destructed electronic evidence related to ponzi scams.

The investigating agency also said that an unprecedented situation has arisen in Kolkata where top police officials are sitting on a dharna with a political party.

The Bench asked the CBI to place all evidence before it by means of an affidavit and posted the matter for Tuesday.

The apex court also said that if the CBI manages to present any evidence against to support its allegation then it would come down heavily on West Bengal government and police.

On the other hand, the West Bengal government filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court against the CBI's attempt to question Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar at his residence. The HC, however, refused an immediate hearing and listed the matter on Tuesday.

The tussle also rocked Parliament on Monday.

​The opposition parties in Lok Sabha attacked the government over the alleged misuse of central agencies against political rivals, saying it was against democratic norms. Members from Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal, NCP and Samajwadi Party spoke against the CBI move to question the Kolkata police chief.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement in the Lok Sabha and said the prevailing situation in Kolkata is "unprecedented" and a threat to the federal political system of the country.

"There may be a constitutional breakdown in West Bengal... under the Constitution, the central government has been vested with the power to maintain normalcy in any part of the country," he said.

Meanwhile, the support continued to pour in from opposition leaders from across the country for Banerjee. From Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, all leaders expressed solidarity with 'Didi'.

The Real Story

Historically West Bengal has always been out of the reach of the BJP as it was first ruled by the Left for decades and now is being ruled by Trinamool Congress party.

Since most of West Bengals population comprises of working class and farmers, it has been a political haven for the Left and TMC that cater to their psychological needs.

Another reason for the Left and TMC rule in West Bengal is the Muslim population. According to 2011 Census of India, West Bengal has over 24.6 million Muslims, who form 27.1% of the state's population.

In Murshidabad district, the percentage of Muslim population is 66.28%, South 24 Parganas 35.57%, North 24 Parganas 25.82%, Malda 51.27%, Bardhaman 20.73%, Uttar Dinajpur 49.92%, Nadia 26.76%, Birbhum 37.06%, Howrah 26.20%, Kolkata 20.60%, Hooghly 15.77%, East Medinipur 24.59%, Cooch Behar 25.54%, West Medinipur 25.1%, Jalpaiguri 11.51%, South Dinajpur 24.63%, Bankura 8.08%, Purulia 7.76% and Darjeeling 5.69% of the total population in these districts.

The Muslims are the deciding factor in any political battle in the state and the party that they support forms the government in the state.

Therefore, the Muslims in West Bengal have always enjoyed patronage of the ruling party.

Since both the Left and the TMC view Muslims as a vote bank, the state saw the maximum influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

With the historic tag of party of businessmen, which didnt suit majority working class, and anti-Muslim; the BJP could not get much political success in West Bengal.

But, two underreported facts have provided the BJP the political way it has been looking for decades.

First, the percentage of Muslims is very high in the category of those who are involved in illegal activities in West Bengal.

Second, despite being involved in illegal activities, Muslims seldom face wrath of the police.

A Kolkata resident, who didnt want to be quoted, told this scribe that West Bengal police think 100 times before taking action against a Muslim, who is found on the wrong side of the law.

Moreover, acts of TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have given more political ground to the BJP.

In 2017, for example, the Mamata Banerjee-led government had issued a notification prohibiting Durga idol immersion between September 30 and October 1 on account of Muharram, observed by Muslims as a day of mourning. The government said the immersion could continue on October 2.

While hearing a plea of some Hindu organisations, the Calcutta High Court had slammed Mamata government for creating rift between the Hindu and Muslim communities and asked Mamata: Why can't two communities celebrate together.

This partiality has been building resent in non-Muslim community since decades.

When the BJP assumed power at the Centre in 2014, the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) started addressing the resent.

As a result, the footprints of BJP and the RSS have increased manifold in West Bengal.

In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 17% votes despite not having full-fledged organisational base in the state and won two seats.

In 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP increased its vote share to 10.5% from 4.11% of 2011 assembly elections and won three assembly seats on its own.

The RSS has also increased its footprints in West Bengal.

Before 2014, the RSS used to run 700 shakas in south Bengal region and 300 shakas in north Bengal, but now the number has touched 1,200 and 400 shakas, respectively in south and north Bengal.

According to RSS leader Jishnu Basu, the "position of Bengal in terms of people joining the Sangh is either second or third after Karnataka".

BJP President Amit Shah has openly said that the party is hopeful of winning 22-23 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019.

The gains of the BJP has perturbed Mamata Banerjee because she has sensed that the BJP and RSS cadre are not like the Left cadre who had shifted loyalty after the TMC assumed power.

According to legal experts, Mamata Banerjees hue and cry over CBI action will not stand in the court of law.

Last year West Bengal withdrew general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe cases in the state. After this, the CBI needs state governments consent for any probe or raids in the state.

But, the CBI teams action in Kolkata on Sunday doesnt fall under states withdrawal of general consent as it is relying on the verdict of the Supreme Court dated May 9, 2014. In the Subrata Chattoraj vs Union of India case, the court had transferred the probe into the chit fund scam to the CBI.

In 1994, the Supreme Court in the Lhendup Dorji vs CBI case had said that the withdrawal of general consent would not be applicable to an ongoing case.

Mamatas Save Constitution dharna is in fact Save TMC dharna. For, she has sensed that apart from polarising West Bengal voters in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will also leave no stone unturned to highlight corruption in the chit fund cases that also point fingers at some TMC leaders.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also arrested Madan Mitra of the TMC in connection with the Saradha scam.

It was suspected that he may have played an alleged role in the Rose Valley scam as well.

The name of TMC MP, Tapas Paul too had cropped up during investigations as he was the director in the company.

Its notable that the political support that Mamata is receiving is coming from those political parties are also anti-BJP.