Mamata Banerjee urges opposition to unite against ‘harassment’ by central agencies

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, March 29

Expressing “deep concern” over the ruling BJP’s use of “Central agencies such as the ED, CBI, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Income Tax Department to target, harass and corner political opponents across the country”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter calling upon opposition leaders and chief ministers from parties which are in the opposition in Parliament to hold a meeting “to deliberate on the way forward”.

While Mamata’s nephew and political successor Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira are facing ED investigation in a coal pilferage scam, the ED recently attached assets of a company owned by the brother-in-law of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Heavyweight opposition politicians facing heat from central agencies also include former prime minister HD Deve Gowda whose wife has been recently given notice by the Income Tax Department.

Banerjee wrote that even though she had the highest regard for judiciary, due to certain biased political interferences people were not getting justice. She described it as “a dangerous trend”.

“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 the country by attempting to influence a certain section of the judiciary,” wrote the Trinamool Congress supremo, who recently suffered a setback in the Calcutta High Court when a division bench headed by the Chief Justice handed over the Rampurhat massacre incident probe to the CBI.

The Chief Minister wrote that central agencies swung into action whenever there’s state or general election around the corner. “It is amply clear that the Opposition is targeted and the BJP-ruled states get a free pass from these agencies to paint a rosy picture of their hollow governance,” the letter stated.

Saying that political witch-hunts had become a norm under the BJP government, she wrote that Opposition leaders need not tolerate the vindictive politics of the BJP.

“It pains me to see that the chief ministers of BJP-ruled states have been consistently flouting directives of the judiciary,” Banerjee added.

Asking the recipients for a meeting as per everyone’s convenience and suitability, Banerjee wrote that the need of the hour for all progressive forces in the country is to come together and fight “the oppressive force” (BJP).

“Let us commit to the cause of a unified and principled opposition that will make way for the government that our country deserves,” she wrote.