- The request by the West Bengal chief minister came a week after the Enforcement Directorate's raids on I-PAC
- I-PAC is assisting the Trinamool Congress with political strategy for the Assembly elections
- "Please protect the people. I am not saying this for me. I am saying save the people," Banerjee said.
Days after she set the cat among the pigeons by walking out with documents and a laptop during Enforcement Directorate raids on political consultancy firm I-PAC - and was then issued a notice by the Supreme Court - West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the Chief Justice of India to protect people from being "targeted" by agencies.
Speaking during the inauguration of a building of the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Saturday, the Trinamool Congress chairperson turned to Chief Justice Surya Kant and other judges on the dais and said, "My request to my Chief Justice and all justices is: please protect the Constitution, democracy, judiciary, history, geography, and boundary of the country from disaster."
"Please see, there are so many agencies that are defaming... deliberate attempts are being made to defame. Please protect the people. I am not saying this for me. I am saying save the people, save the judiciary, the Constitution, and the country," she thundered, adding, "We are under your custody. You are the guardian of the Constitution. There is nobody superior to you."
Banerjee also made an appeal that the "trend of media trials" should stop.
Hearing a petition by the Enforcement Directorate on the alleged "interference" by Banerjee during the raids, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Prashant Mishra and Vipul Pancholi had said on Thursday it was of the view that a serious issue had been raised.
"There are larger questions which emerge and, if not answered, shall lead to lawlessness. If central agencies are working in a bona fide manner to probe a serious offence, a question arises: Can they be obstructed by party activities?" the court said.
The bench also issued notices to Banerjee, the West Bengal government and the state's top cop, Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, on the ED's demand for a CBI probe against them for allegedly obstructing the raids.
Protest Rally
The raids on the I-PAC office and the house of its co-founder, Pratik Jain, were carried out on January 9 in connection with an alleged coal scam. Banerjee accused the BJP of trying everything to win the upcoming Bengal Assembly elections and said the raids were designed to get access to the Trinamool's strategy, which the I-PAC was helping with.
Taking out a 6-km rally in Kolkata the next day, during which she was cheered on by supporters, Banerjee insisted she had done nothing wrong and that agencies like the ED and CBI were being used for political ends.
"If someone tries to kill me politically, don't I have the right to defend myself... All agencies have been captured. You forcibly captured Maharashtra, Haryana and Bihar. Do you think you can capture Bengal too? If someone tries to hit me politically, I get politically rejuvenated and reborn," she declared.
After the Supreme Court's observations, the BJP said it had been proven that there was a breakdown of law and order in West Bengal as well as interference in police investigations.
"The Supreme Court has exposed the truth about the Mamata Banerjee government. The Supreme Court clearly stated that anarchy would prevail. The Supreme Court's observations themselves reflect the law and order situation in Bengal... The Chief Minister herself interferes in the I-PAC investigation, taking away files... The Supreme Court's statement makes it clear what kind of chaotic situation exists there," BJP leader Sanjay Sarawagi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
