“Only those who have a lot to hide have taken the step of not letting CBI come to their state" says Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to Opposition

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley denounced the decision of the opposition to banning the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from their states- directed towards Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. 

Jaitley emphasized the significance of the institution and the fact that CBI was shaped to probe misdeeds. 

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“We have a federal structure in India and under that structure, the CBI was created initially for the employees of the central government and then to investigate certain kinds of very serious cases. When CBI was formed in the country, it was formed with the motive to probe irregularities. The step has been taken to safeguard a few people,” he said. 

On November 16, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee banned CBI in their respective states, which was condemned by Jaitley on Saturday. 

“Only those who have a lot to hide have taken the step of not letting CBI come to their state. There is no sovereignty of any state in the matter of corruption. Andhra move is not motivated by any particular case but in fear of what is likely to happen,” he said.

Announcing this block on November 16, spokesperson of  Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party said, “CBI is a tool used by the Union government in order to keep the independent institution in their hands. After careful examination of the things for the first six months in CBI, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the State government took the firm decision to withdraw the permission to the CBI to handle any kind of operation in the state.”  

Giving further justification for the imposed restriction, Lanka added, “This decision has been taken against the unilateral approach of the Union government and PM Modi using it as a tool against the political opponents, rather than letting the institution act independently.” 

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Following in the footsteps of the Andhra Pradesh government, the West Bengal government on Friday issued a notification saying it has withdrawn the former Left government's consensus to allow the CBI to operate independently in the state.