After Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal withdraws general consent to CBI

The West Bengal government Friday withdrew the 'general consent' accorded to the CBI to conduct probe and raids in the state, a top official said.

The decision was taken late Friday evening, close on the heels of a similar step initiated by the Chandrababu Naidu-led Andhra Pradesh government.

The general consent, accorded to the CBI by the then Left Front government in 1989, enabled the central agency to conduct any investigation without taking separate permission from the state government.

With this decision, the CBI would henceforth require permission from the West Bengal government to carry out any sort of investigation except those ordered by the courts, the official at the state secretariat said.

The CBI functions under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.

During a party meeting earlier in the day here, the Trinamool Congress supremo extended her support to Naidu over the issue.

"What Chandrababu Naidu has done is absolutely right. The BJP is using the CBI and other agencies to pursue its own political interests and vendetta," Banerjee said there.

In the emerging situation, the officials believe that the ongoing investigations in the Saradha, Narada and Rose Valley ponzi scam cases would not be affected since those probes were being conducted according to court orders.

However, in other cases, where there were no court orders, the central agency would require consent of the state government to carry out its investigations.

Incidentally, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister is likely to visit Kolkata to meet Banerjee on Monday. Both the leaders are expected to hold talks at the state secretariat here ahead of the opposition conclave in New Delhi next week.