Mamata Banerjee hits the streets, says Modi-Shah attempting coup

KolkataAn allout war broke out between the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee government on Sunday with the feisty West Bengal leader beginning a sitin protest at a city landmark over the CBIs attempt to question the Kolkata Police chief in connection with chit fund scams insisting it stifled the spirit of Constitution and federalismIn a dramatic showdown with the Modi government a furious Banerjee wrapped in a brown woollen shawl began a sitin right in front of the Metro Cinema to protest insults she faced at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah hours after a CBI team that had gone to question Kumar was detained in a rare faceoff between the police establishments of the Centre and the stateBanerjee one of the prime movers behind the effort to cobble together an antiBJP alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls claimed the CBI knocked on the doors of Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar without a search warrantBanerjee asked all opposition parties to unite to bring down the Modi government and in a rare exhortation by a political leader called upon personnel of security forces of the Centre and states besides the Army to condemn the attitude of the Modi governmentThe fastpaced development started unfolding as soon as a team of 40odd agency officers arrived at Kumars residence at Loudon Street in central Kolkata this afternoon but they were stopped by sentries and officialsCBI joint director Pankaj Srivastava said the agencys officials had gone to question Kumar in chit fund scam cases and we would have rounded him up if he hadnt cooperated with usAccording to the CBI Kumar a 1989batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre who led a Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police probing the scams needs to be questioned regarding missing documents and files but he has not responded to notices to appear before the agencyA day earlier the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI claimed that Kumar had been absconding and being looked for in connection with Saradha and Rose Valley ponzi scam casesAs the CBI team landed at the city police chiefs residence a team of Kolkata Police officers rushed to the spot to speak to the CBI officials and tried to enquire if they the documents required for questioning KumarLater on a small team of CBI officials was taken to Shakespeare Sarani police station for further discussionsThereafter more men arrived at the spot and a commotion ensued Some CBI officers were then forcibly bundled into police jeeps taken to a police stationAs politics played out on the street the chief minister who rushed to the residence of Kumar said Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are trying to organise a coup in the state as we had organised the opposition rally on January 19 We were aware that the CBI will attack us after we organised the rally She was referring to the Brigade rally attended by leaders of about 20 opposition partiesParty spokesperson Derek O Brien tweeted BJP planning a constitutional coup 40 CBI officials surround Kolkata Police Commissioners home Destruction of institutions goes on unabated Our demand in Parliament on Mon Modi has to go We are reaching out and sharing this with all Oppn parties who want to SaveDemocracyWest Bengal DGP Virendra and ADG Law and order Anuj Sharma too reached Kumars residenceIn a titfortat move a team of Kolkata Police officials also cordoned off the CGO Complex the state headquarters of CBICBI officer Srivastava said I have also been detained and there are police officers standing outside my houseJoint Commissioner of Police Crime Pravin Tripathi said the CBI officers have been let go from the police station after questioningThey just said they had come for a secret operation We dont know what kind of operation it is Tripathi saidLater in the evening central forces arrived at the CBI office in Kolkata Subsequently Kolkata Police personnel vacated the compoundA statement was issued earlier in the day from Kolkata Police dismissing reports of Kumar being missing from workPlease take note that not only is the CP Kolkata available in the city but has also been attending office on a regular basis with the exception of January 31 2019 when he was on leave for a day All concerned may please take note that if any news is spread without proper verification Kolkata Police will initiate strict legal action against defamation of both the CP Kolkata and Kolkata Police the police saidThe city police commission who appeared briefly outside his residence after the chief ministers press conference said he would talk to the media MondayHe was later seen at the dharna site of the chief ministerSpeaking at the dharna site Banerjee said leaders of several opposition parties have called her up to extend their support and solidarity towards her fight to protect the ConstitutionLeaders of various opposition parties including Akhilesh Yadav Samajwadi Party Tejashwi Yadav RJD Chandrababu Naidu TDP Omar Abdullah NC Ahmed Patel Congress and M K Stalin DMK have called me to extend their solidarity and support she saidIn Delhi the Congress said the CBI action in Kolkata was clearly mala fide and an assault on the federal polityCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever