It’s not okay, the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday, disapproving of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s act of walking into the midst of an investigation by a central agency and putting “democracy in jeopardy”. The stinging remarks come a day before the state goes to polls.
The Enforcement Directorate, or ED, has accused Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state officials of interfering with its investigation and searches at the offices of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee, or I-PAC, which works with the Trinamool. The raids happened in early January as part of a money laundering investigation.
“This is not a dispute between the state and the union. A Chief Minister of any state cannot walk into the midst of an investigation, put the democracy in peril, and then say don’t convert this into a dispute between the state and the Union,” the Supreme Court said.
According to the agency, Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by state officials, entered the I-PAC office as well as the home of its founder, Pratik Jain, while the searches were underway and walked out with a laptop, phone and multiple documents.
“This is per se an act committed by an individual who happens to be the Chief Minister keeping the whole democracy in jeopardy,” the top court underlined.
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