New Delhi, Feb 3 (UNI) The BJP leaders on Sunday lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress for protecting an alleged wrongdoer police official and 'obstructing' CBI do their job vis-a-vis the probe into chit fund scams even as a party MP demanded imposition of President's Rule in West Bengal.
"I demand President Rule in the West Bengal to save democracy and the constitutional rule," tweeted BJP's Rajya Sabha Rakesh Sinha after Chief Minister Ms Banejee plunged into street side politics and sat on Dharna in Kolkata.
"The West Bengal is fast moving towards President Rule .TMC govt should be immediately suspended," he wrote in another missive.
The protest and stalling the CBI officials discharge their duties only display "her guilty conscience", he wrote adding a Chief Minister is on dharna to 'protect corrupt officers'.
Another BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said - "With false words and false slogans she cannot change the fact that a CBI team that was investigating as per the Supreme Court's instructions has been stopped by her government".
"We condemn this and today's development shows the democracy has been destroyed in West Bengal. It is utter lawlessness in Bengal," BJP in charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya told reporters.
He pointed out that the probe into the chit funds scams in Bengal had started long before BJP-led NDA came to power in 2014.
"There is threat to CBI officials on duty and even their family members and so I urge the centre to help these CBI officials discharge their duties and conduct the probe," he said.
"If the police commissioner Rajeev Kumar is not guilty and the state government has nothing to hide, why should the state police and the state government prevent CBI do their job," BJP MP in Rajya Sabha Vinay Sahasrabuddhe told UNI after reports emerged that Kolkata 'prevented' a five member CBI team to conduct their probe and question the police commissioner in question.
"The Trinamool action today is a case of affront on federal structure of the constitution where the state government is guilty," he said.
"This episode is a serious matter and needs attention," he said.
Senior BJP leader and onetime confidant of Ms Banerjee, Mukul Roy said the Chief Minister has grown panicky especially after the people's response to BJP rallies addressed among others by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh during last two days.
There was a major showdown and unprecedented confrontation between the state police and the CBI in Kolkata as tension between West Bengal Chief Minister and the Centre escalated to a virtual point of no return.
Some CBI officers were forcefully taken to a police station from outside police commissioner's residence and after centre's intervention CRPF personnel were posted at CBI regional office at the CGO complex in Kolkata.
In a rare tweet, Chief Minister defended the Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, whom CBI has accused of 'destroying evidence in the chit fund scams.
She also rushed to his Loudon Street residence in Kolkata and held a meeting with Mr Kumar and later sat on a protest Dharna.
BJP MP Rupa Ganguly said she could not understand why the Chief Minister was protecting the police commissioner.
UNI DEVN