The Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal governments have withdrawn the “general consent” accorded to the CBI to conduct raids and probes.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) spokesperson, Lanka Dinakar, told ANI, “This decision has been taken in wake of incidents happening in CBI since last six months. It lost its independence due to the involvement of Modi-led union government which is using CBI as tools against political opponents by means of preparing fabricated statements.”
Following this move by the Naidu, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was quick to endorse the Andhra government’s decision. “Chandrababu Naidu has done the right thing in saying he wouldn’t allow CBI in his state. The BJP can be ‘note changer’, but it’s not a game changer,” she said.
Responding to this the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said those who had a lot to hide would fear the central agency. He was speaking to reporters here after releasing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.
He stated that, “It is only those who have a lot to hide will take the step of saying let the CBI not come to my state. There is no sovereignty of any state in the matter of corruption. It is believed that Andhra’s move is not motivated by any particular case, but by the fear of what is likely to happen. I am not saying anything more than that at the moment.”