The lady is not for turning - CBI GHAR WAPASI Mamata rediscovers utility of central agency, seeks probe in nun case

TT, March 18: Mamata Banerjee has fallen back on the CBI to probe the Ranaghat atrocity, executing a stunning somersault that betrayed tactical fault lines, a damage-control exercise and a calculated attempt to build a blame-absorbing buffer.

The chief minister, who had declared the central agency Public Enemy No. 1 since it turned up the Saradha heat last year, said she took the decision "considering the seriousness and sensitivity" of the alleged rape and robbery in the Convent of Jesus and Mary High School in Ranaghat.

"Our Government will provide all necessary co-operation and assistance to the CBI," the chief minister tweeted, using the social media platform to announce what can be termed one of the humblest pies she has ever been forced to swallow in her tumultuous public life.

The announcement immediately led to suggestions that Mamata was virtually admitting that the state police had so far failed to make much headway in the case that has sent shock waves across the country and beyond.

Two, she has been compelled to seek the help of the very agency she had been describing as one controlled by the BJP. In an ironic twist, Mamata herself is handing over to the alleged BJP-run CBI a case that she came close to linking to the ghar wapasi(reconversion) programme of some Sangh parivar outfits.

Mamata's decision to call in the CBI is a first of sorts since she came to power in May 2011. Although she never missed a chance to demand CBI investigations when she was in the Opposition - the last time she did so was in January 2011 after the killings in Netai - the agency became her punching bag once the Saradha probe was handed over to the agency by the Supreme Court.

Now, Mamata will have to depend on Narendra Modi, whom she had refused to meet until recently, to clear her request for the CBI probe. The final say lies with the Prime Minister.

Trinamul did extend an olive branch to the NDA government today by offering to support the coal and mining bills on the ground that some of its concerns had been addressed.

On the brighter side for Mamata, if Modi allows the CBI to take up the case, she can blame the agency if the investigations drag on and a breakthrough remains elusive.

The acceptance of the CBI probe in Bengal might also prompt the Opposition to demand a similar investigation in Haryana where a church had been attacked. Modi had bracketed the two incidents in a statement yesterday.

A CBI intervention is expected to take the glare away from the CID, helping the state agency to pursue leads with a freer hand and without being subjected to constant public scrutiny.

The Trinamul Congress is seeking to transform adversity into opportunity. "Now, we can also hit the streets and demand immediate arrests. Our government will not be defensive any more," said a leader.

Mamata's immediate compulsion behind gulping her pride appears to be the growing tide of polite but persistent reminders from the Church that no arrests had been made till Wednesday night despite the reassurances from the state government.

Statements from respected minority leaders and high-profile visits to the state almost every day since the brutal attack had landed Mamata in unfamiliar territory. Today, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, the president of one of the most influential Christian organisations in the country, visited Ranaghat and called on the chief minister.

Never before has she come under such intense pressure on an issue involving a minority community. If Monday's blockade was a shocking eye-opener for her, the Centre's demand for an action-taken report convinced her that time was running out, a minister said.

"Such reports to the Centre have a prescribed format in which the action taken has to be listed. Officials were fumbling for words when they were preparing the action-taken report on the Ranaghat attack," said an official.

The nerves were evident this morning when the chief minister met senior officials, including chief secretary Sanjay Mitra and director-general of police G.M.P. Reddy, at Nabanna, said sources.

"She asked the DGP whether the police would be able to arrest the culprits within one or two days. The DGP did not commit anything and explained that the state agencies have their own limitations as it was possible that the culprits might have crossed the borders," said a source.

In her tweet later, Mamata referred to the proximity of the attack site to the border.

When the chief minister asked the chief secretary about the next course of action, he apparently told her to take the final call, following which Mamata opted for the CBI probe.