West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday coined a new term for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) dubbing it the ‘Conspiracy Bureau of Investigation.’
The Trinamool Congress chairperson who was addressing a public rally in the State’s Bardhaman district on the occasion of the Maati Utsav (Festival of Soil) targeted the BJP saying, “A party of conspirators have set up the Conspiracy Bureau of Investigation.”
She was apparently referring to the arrest of her party MPs in a chit fund scam case.
Ms. Banerjee alleged that the agency was functioning as the “back office” of the Centre and making arrests without any evidence.
She has been an MP for 30 years and seen the rise and fall of so many governments but never seen something like this against whom any voice of protest is met with “political vendetta.”
“Modi babu er note batil du maas ar manuser sarvanash (Two months of demonetisation and disaster for the people),” Ms. Banerjee said.
She dared the Centre to arrest everyone and said that “Modi babu is only making prisons across the country.”
“Where is the money”, she asked, stating that in the past two months her government had lost 25 per cent revenue.
Ms. Banerjee told the gathering that her government had lost ₹5,500 crore in the past two months. “How will I manage,” she asked and went on to question the silence of the chambers of commerce.
“Why are the chambers silent? I don’t know … may be because of fear,” she said.
From Monday protests are being organised by the Trinamool in West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab, Bihar, Manipur, Tripura, Assam, Jharkhand and Delhi, the Chief Minister tweeted. The protests will continue till Wednesday. Senior leaders participated in the protests in at least two places in the city, in front of the office of the CBI and the Reserve Bank of India.
Protests were also organised by Left parties during the day on the issue of chit funds.
