Bihar govt likely to start process of withdrawing general consent to CBI

Patna: The Bihar government has reportedly held a meeting to start the process of withdrawing the general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe matters in the state, sources said.

The meeting was reportedly attended by top Mahagathbandhan leaders including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and others after raids being conducted against RJD leaders. The CBI, escorted by central paramilitary forces, conducted raids on RJD MLC Sunil Singh, Rajya Sabha members Ashfaq Karim and Fayyaz Ahmed in Patna, Katihar and Madhubani districts on August 24.

RJD national General Secretary Shivanand Tiwari said: “The way BJP is misusing the central investigation agencies, I believe that Bihar government should withdraw the consent it has given to central agencies like the CBI to come to the state for the investigation. Under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946, state governments of the country had given the consent to the CBI and allowed for the investigation of a case without any permission.”

“After the formation of Narendra Modi government in 2014, Mizoram was the first state to withdraw the consent in 2015. Which means, if the CBI has to investigate any case, it should take permission from the state government before conducting raids in the respective states. After Mizoram, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Rajasthan also withdrew consent. A total of 9 states have withdrawn the consent so far,” he added.

Sources have said that Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and others have taken the suggestions of senior bureaucrats of the states, and it remains to be seen if the decision is passed by the state cabinet or not.

Following the development, BJP leaders reacted sharply.

Leader of Opposition in Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha said: “The CBI is a constitutional body and no one could stop its entry in Bihar. People who are sitting on constitutional posts should respect the constitutional agencies. If you are not wrong then, what are you scared of? Why are corrupt people feeling uneasy?

“CM Nitish Kumar is sitting on the constitutional post and he has turned into ‘Dhritarashtra’. We will not allow leaders of the Mahagathbandhan to be arbitrary in Bihar.”