After Andhra, West Bengal withdraws general consent to CBI; BJP sees ‘grand alliance of corrupt parties’

The general consent was accorded to the CBI by the then Left Front government in West Bengal in 1989.

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With Friday’s notification, the central agency would henceforth require permission from the state government to carry out any sort of investigation except those ordered by the court, said a top official at the state secretariat said.

The CBI was established under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. On August 3, 2018, the Andhra government, like any other state, had renewed the general consent given to the CBI.

Sources in the government cited lack of confidence in the CBI due to the ongoing controversy and the case going on in the Supreme Court for withdrawing the consent. However, the state government’s move is being seen as escalating the confrontation with the Centre as Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu tries to rally together the non-BJP parties to form an alliance.

Reacting to the development, BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimhra Rao described the TDP government’s order as a “clear mala fide exercise of power” to ensure that its “corruption” was not exposed, alleging that a “grand alliance of most corrupt parties” had taken shape to protect their interests.

With PTI inputs