New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh Monday said there may be a
constitutional breakdown in West Bengal in the wake of the Kolkata Police-CBI
face-off and asserted that the Centre has power to take action.
Amidst din in the Lok Sabha, he also termed as
“unprecedented” the move to stop the probe agency from performing its
duty.
An all-out war broke out between the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee
government on Sunday over the CBI’s attempt to question the Kolkata Police
commissioner in connection with chit fund scams.
Making a statement in Lok Sabha on the prevailing situation
in Kolkata, Singh described the action against the CBI probe team, which went
to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, as
“unprecedented” and a threat to the federal political system of the
country.
“There may be 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.
Earlier, 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.
A CPI-M member said both the Trinamool Congress and the
Centre were at fault.
As soon as the House took up Zero Hour, Speaker Sumitra
Mahajan allowed members to raise the issue.
There May Be Constitutional Breakdown In West Bengal: Rajnath
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