Ahead of Modi-Mamata meeting, BJP says it's too late for truce

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi around 4.30pm on Wednesday in Delhi.

Banerjee is not the first chief minister meeting Modi after he became prime minister for a second term, neither would she be the last. However, since Modi came back to power over 100 days ago, Banerjee appears to have found time only now to meet the prime minister when the Saradha scam investigation is getting close to a climax. Rajeev Kumar, who led the state police probe into the Saradha scam, has gone missing, evading arrest from CBI.

Her political opponents raised doubts about Banerjee’s intentions ahead of the meeting with Modi. She did not attend the oath-taking ceremony of the prime minister despite being invited. Neither did Banerjee attend NITI Aayog meetings nor did she appear for special meetings on security and water scarcity in the country.

On the same day that Banerjee is meeting Modi, a special team of 16 CBI officers arrived in Kolkata. Two CBI officers of the rank of joint director—including joint director east—were already in Kolkata. The CBI is waiting for a non-bailable arrest warrant from the Alipore sessions court judge, expected on Wednesday, and has already made a roadmap on how to arrest Kumar, an officer of the rank of additional director-general.

On Tuesday, Kumar had appealed to the Barasat district court for anticipatory bail, which was turned down. The court asked Kumar to go to the Alipore court as the main case of Saradha scam was lodged there. Kumar had lodged the bail application because he alleged being hounded by CBI in the case when he was commissioner of Bidhan Nagar police, which falls under the Barasat court's purview.

On the same grounds, CBI was also asked to file for the non-bailable arrest warrant to the same Alipore court. As both the Supreme Court and Calcutta High Court declined to give legal protection, including from custodial interrogation, to Kumar, the CBI has fewer impediments in arresting the high-profile officer.

But as Kumar refused to come to the CBI office and surrender on Tuesday, the CBI would like to conduct raids across locations, including Kumar’s house and the residences of other high-profile people. For such raids, the investigating agency needs a non-bailable warrant.

The CBI’s desperation also came from the fact that the agency’s headquarters had already alerted the home ministry of the possibility of a tussle in Kolkata in the light of this year’s assault on CBI officers by Kolkata Police when a CBI team went to Kumar’s house. The house of CBI joint director Pankaj Srivastava was also attacked and he was confined till the CRPF rescued him.

Two days ago, after being prodded by the Union home ministry, two companies of the CRPF were withdrawn from Junglemahal and rushed to Kolkata. So, the spectre of a Centre-state tussle looms large this time and the CBI is moving very cautiously this time.

“In every step, we are looking at legal implications. We are keeping legal advisers in Delhi and Kolkata in the loop always. One thing is clear: Rajeev Kumar would have to bow down before the law of the land,” said a senior officer of the CBI in Kolkata.

The importance of Kumar in the Saradha scam investigation can't be understated. His arrest could lead the CBI to many top bureaucrats of West Bengal, along with several ministers including the chief minister herself.

As a result, Banerjee's meeting with Modi is of huge political significance.

Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP's national general secretary, raised suspicions when he told reporters on Wednesday in Kolkata, “Meeting of a CM and PM is nothing new. But the person who minced no words against our PM is falling on his feet now. You can understand.”

The significant thing is that Modi is meeting Banerjee at his residence, not at South Block. Banerjee is carrying a kurta for Modi as a gift for Durga Puja and Bengali sweets. Modi is, however, not a sweet lover.

CBI sources have confirmed that Banerjee’s statement for the Saradha Scam would be “highly required” for the agency. And it believes that Kumar’s deposition would lead them to have that.

In this crucial time, Banerjee is attempting to build a rapport with Modi, against whom she had used the strongest words in the last several years. Even after the general election three months back, Banerjee had bitterly attacked the BJP.

But unlike in the past, Banerjee has not taken the name of the prime minister in recent times while attacking the BJP. Her meeting with Modi at the latter’s residence points to an attempt to appear meek, which jailed Congress leader P. Chidambaram refused to do. Another Modi baiter, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, had also refused to toe the 'meekness line' of Banerjee.

But a senior West Bengal BJP leader expressed cynicism about the Modi-Mamata meeting impacting the Saradha scam probe. The leader said, “It’s impossible to even think that Modi ji would create hurdles before the investigation.”