Mamata cries dirty politics as Nitish sends officer to Kolkata without consulting WB government

KOLKATA: Mamata Banerjee has taken a strong exception to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s act of sending police officer to Kolkata to meet the rape victim’s family without consulting her government.

Even though Mamata herself did not make any comment on Kumar’s act, minister for urban development Firhad Hakim on Friday came down heavily on Kumar by describing his act as “an interference in law and order issue of another state”.

Hakim said that the Bihar chief minister had gone beyond his jurisdiction in sending his senior police officer to Bengal and his act was against the federal structure of the country.

Mamata held her cabinet meeting during the day and it is learnt that the chief minister has expressed displeasure at Kumar’s decision to send his official without consulting her government.

It is learnt that Mamata has asked Hakim to make a press statement condemning Kumar. Kumar had sent one of his senior police officials, GS Gangwar, who met the family of the 19-year-old rape victim on Thursday and assured them all possible help from the Bihar government.

The victim’s family hails from Bihar. It is learnt that the Bihar police official also told the family that his government will make all possible arrangements in rehabilitating the family at Bihar.

Hakim also alleged that Bihar chief minister’s move was nothing but an instigation before the Lok Sabha elections. Condemning Kumar’s act, the Bengal minister also criticised the Bihar police official’s visit to a political party office to meet the victim’s family.

The victim’s father, a taxi driver is close to the CPM’s trade union arm, Citu and the family is still staying at the temporary shelter provided to them by the CPM leadership. Informed sources in Trinamool Congress said on Friday that Mamata Banerjee was very much displeased with the victim’s family for taking shelter of a political party from the very first day of the incident of rape.

“The CPIM is conspiring against us by attempting to use the issue and they are getting support from Nitish Kumar,” Mamata reportedly told her trusted leaders on Friday. She sees conspiracy and feels that CPIM and Kumar are now conniving against her government before parliamentary elections.

Trinamool leadership has reason to be apprehensive about a CPM-Kumar link as the Bihar chief minister had attended a rally organised by the Left parties in Delhi on October 30 last year.