PATNA: The clamour for the withdrawal of general consent to CBI by leaders of the Mahagathbandhan became louder on Monday with the BJP claiming that the demand was being made to protect acts of graft and corrupt politicians in the ruling alliance.
Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Tariq Anwar said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was hamstrung earlier because he was a BJP ally, should now take the step in view of mounting allegations of "misuse" of central agencies.
"Nitish Kumar should take a leaf out of the book of many other states and go for such a step. Misuse of investigating agencies is a reality. He may not have been able to take such a decision earlier because he was with the BJP. But now he must act," Anwar told PTI-Bhasha over phone.
The RJD, the largest constituent, has been most vocal.
Its top leaders like Lalu Prasad, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and many close members of their family and key aides have been named in cases lodged by the CBI.
The agency also raided many premises owned by RJD leaders last week on a day the new government in the state was seeking trust vote.
"ED and CBI sleuths should be forbidden in Bihar without obtaining due permission from the state government. These agencies have lost their credibility," fumed Uday Narayan Chaudhary, a senior RJD leader and two-time speaker of the state assembly.
The clamour has been criticised, predictably, by the BJP, which alleged that attempts were being made to protect a "corrupt" RJD.
Leader of Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha of the BJP said, "The demand to withdraw general consent to the CBI in Bihar is being made with a malafide intention."
"If the state government takes any such decision, it would be simply to protect acts of corruption and the corrupt leaders in the Mahagathbandhan. If they are honest, why are they so scared of the CBI?" he said.
However, CPI national secretary Atul Anjan scoffed at the contention.
"All states, including Bihar, should withdraw such general consent as the BJP has been using agencies for the purpose of political vendetta and thrown the concept of cooperative federalism to the winds. These agencies must, therefore, be allowed only to investigate matters wherein the respective state governments have given consent," said Anjan.
"Many states have withdrawn such consent and there is no reason why Nitish Kumar should follow suit," said the CPI leader whose party supports the government from the outside.
Another ally, the CPI(ML), the Left party with the largest presence in the state, concurred with the sentiment.
"Agencies like CBI and NIA have, indeed become tools of persecution. These are being used arbitrarily which is unacceptable. The Mahagathbandhan should build a consensus so that government could take suitable action," said CPI(ML) national secretary general Dipankar Bhattacharya.
However, JD(U) parliamentary board chief Upendra Kushwaha, a key political aide of the chief minister, disapproved of the demand, asserting that it was not the agency per se that was at fault but the regime that has vitiated the atmosphere.
"I don't think states should take recourse to such a step. It is not the agency that is to be blamed. We need to work towards forming a government at the Centre that creates an atmosphere of trust and credibility," Kushwaha told reporters.
Chirag Paswan, former LJP president who seems ambivalent both towards the NDA and the 'Mahagathbandhan', but is stoutly opposed to the Bihar CM and his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras who is a Union minister, was non-committal.
"It is for the state government to take a call. If it feels that central agencies are not being fair, the state government enjoys power, under the federal structure, to take such pre-emptive action," he said, "I remember the parakram (valour) of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee when she staged a protest to physically prevent a CBI team tried to grill one of her trusted officers. I am, however, less bothered about problems being faced by political players. I am focusing on the problems of the people," said Paswan.