‘BJP attacking federal structure’: Mamata writes to non-BJP CMs, Oppn leaders

Earlier, during the run up to the West Bengal Assembly election, Banerjee had written a similar letter to the Opposition parties in a bid to unite forces against the BJP. Recently, after the Centre proposed to amend the IAS rules and sought opinions from the states, the Chief Minister had shot off another letter asking the non-BJP states to oppose the move.

Banerjee’s letter read, “I am writing to you to express deep concern over direct attacks on this country’s institutional democracy by the ruling BJP. Central agencies such as the ED, CBI, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Income Tax Department are being used to target, harass and corner political opponents across the country for vendetta.”

She further wrote, “During the recently-concluded Winter Session, Parliament bulldozed through the Delhi Special Police (Amendment) Bill 2021 as well as the CVC (Amendment) Bill 2021, in the midst of an Opposition walkout. These laws enable the Centre to extend the tenure of the directors of the ED and CBI up to five years in blatant violation of a previous Supreme Court judgment.”

Asking the leaders to resist BJP’s intention to misuse the central agencies to suppress the Opposition, she added, “Central agencies are jolted to action just when elections are round the corner. It is amply clear that the BJP ruled states get a free pass from these agencies to paint a rosy picture of their hollow governance.”

“It pains me to see that the chief ministers of BJP-ruled states have been consistently flouting the directives of the judiciary. I have the highest regards for the judiciary. But at present, due to certain biased political interferences, people are not getting justice which is a dangerous trend in our democracy,” the letter further read.

Alleging that the BJP is attacking the federal structure of the country, she wrote, “BJP is trying to attack the federal structure of this country by attempting to influence a certain section of the judiciary. As the Opposition parties, it is our constitutional responsibility to hold this government accountable for their actions, to resist the stifling of voices of dissent.”