WB CM Mamata writes to all Oppn parties over BJP's direct attacks on democracy"

Kolkata, Mar 29: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has written to all Opposition Parties and Chief Ministers "expressing concern over BJP's direct attacks on democracy."

"I am writing to you to express deep concern over direct attacks on this country's institutional democracy by the ruling BJP. Central agencies such as the ED, CBI, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Income Tax Department are being used to target, harass and corner political opponents across the country for vendetta. During the recently-concluded Winter Session, Parliament bulldozed through the Delhi Special Police (Amendment) Bill 2021 as well as the CVC (Amendment) Bill 2021, in the midst of an opposition walkout," she said.

Mamata claims that those laws enable the Centre to extend the tenure of the directors of ED and CBI up to 5 years in blatant violation of a previous Supreme Court judgement.

"We all must resist the ruling BJP's intention to misuse these central agencies with the sole intent of suppressing opposition leaders. Central agencies are jolted to action just when elections are round the corner. It is amply clear that the BJP ruled states get a free pass from these agencies to paint a rosy picture of their hollow governance. We believe in transparency and accountability in governance but we will not tolerate the vindictive politics of the BJP that has led to a political witch-hunt. It pains me to see that the chief ministers of BJP ruled states have been consistently flouting the directives of the judiciary," she said.

The West Bengal CM claims that she has the highest regard for the judiciary. However, people are not getting justice these days due to certain biased political interferences which is a dangerous trend in our democracy, she stated.

"In our democratic system, judiciary, media and public are important pillars. If any part is disrupted , the system collapses. Time and again, the BJP is trying to attack the federal structure of this country by attempting to influence a certain section of the judiciary. As the opposition parties, it is our constitutional responsibility to hold this government accountable for their actions, to resist the stifling of voices of dissent," she added.