Mamata Banerjee calls off three-day dharna, declares SC directive a 'victory for democracy and Constitution'

Welcoming the Supreme Court’s order cautioning the CBI against using coercive measures against Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee called off her three-day Save The Constitution dharna at Kolkata’s Metro channel on Tuesday evening, according to several media reports. Mamata hailed the SC directive as a victory for the Constitution and democracy as Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu stood by her side. “When we started this dharna, we consulted all political parties and they gave us their full support,” she said. [caption id=“attachment_6032341” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mamata Banerjee and Chandrababu Naidu in Kolkata on Tuesday. ANI[/caption] Alleging that the central government wants to control all agencies, Mamata asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go back to Gujarat, where a “one man government and one party government” exists. “The court gave a positive judgment today. We will continue to take up this issue in Delhi next week,” Mamata said, as Naidu hailed her as the main face of the Opposition. Meanwhile, Naidu called Mamata the architect of the federal front and said that she would win all the 42 seats in West Bengal in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. “The ND government wants to divide India. We want to unite India,” he said, adding that no one can do what Mamata has done in the CBI versus Kolkata Police row. Naidu further raised questions about the silence the government has over the Rs 58,000-crore Rafale deal. “If there is any event after this, I will always be with Mamata Banerjee,” Naidu said. Mamata started the dharna on Sunday night after the CBI attempted to arrest Kumar. In her fight against the Centre, she found support not just from Naidu, but also RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and DMK’s Kanimozhi. Earlier today, the Supreme Court directed that Kumar cannot be arrested and that he is to faithfully cooperate in the investigation of the Saradha chit fund scam. To avoid “unnecessary controversy”, the apex court directed the Kolkata police commissioner to appear before the CBI at a neutral place in Shillong. With inputs from PTI