Loss of face

Loss of face

SC restores sanity but the street fight has dented Mamata government and CBI authority
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed the Supreme Court order directing her top cop Rajeev Kumar to join CBI’s Saradha scam probe as a “moral victory”. But she was left with no other face saving option to end her ill-conceived dharna after SC directed Kumar’s interrogation in “neutral” territory and issued contempt notices against her top officials for Bengal police’s coercive action against CBI officers. The ruckus and dharna don’t behoove a federal apparatus where the rule of law is well defined. SC’s extraordinary directive to conduct the interrogation in “neutral” Shillong suggests it can’t be conducted even-handedly in Bengal, which shows governance there in poor light.

Mamata’s claims of being a champion of democracy and constitutional propriety are belied by her own repressive conduct. One indicator of how the opposition is systematically stymied via state apparatus, is how her UP counterpart Yogi Adityanath has been denied permission to land his helicopter for Lok Sabha campaigning. Her dharna politics is also deeply flawed. After being elected to deliver governance, it is bizarre for various politicians to don the opposition mantle to cry victimisation. Mamata’s dharna and BJP’s constant wail about anti-nationals draw from the same wellspring.

In this polarised atmosphere, SC has to frequently arbiter administrative disputes like a CBI director’s sacking or an interim director’s responsibilities. Even a minor procedural clash over questioning Kumar escalated into a full blown constitutional crisis. Resolving these tiffs places a huge strain on SC and overstretches it. Executive, despite 70 years of institutional knowhow on due process and rule of law, subverts them for petty political gains. This is where CBI’s design is structurally flawed and leads to frequent controversies. Successive parliamentary committees have recommended autonomy for CBI.

The caged parrot must be freed in public interest. And even in the executive’s own interest. BJP must introspect why parties across the spectrum have joined hands against it. CBI’s enthusiasm in booking opposition politicians is not matched by its ability to take high profile cases to their logical conclusion. ‘Investigative adventurism’ keeps weighing it down. As for its handling of Saradha scam since May 2014, CBI has failed to complete the probe and offer justice to lakhs of defrauded depositors. On this Bengal police must cooperate fully with CBI. It must offer up whatever evidence is called for by CBI. Enough politics has been played, and people are not fooled.