Is Mamata's probe order for Narada sting a farce?

She has come out victorious decimating all Opposition in Bengal and now she is out to hunt her detractors. Since Mamata Banerjee ordered the state police to "investigate" the Narada sting operation last week, it has become clear that nothing has ruffled Didi as much as the Narada sting in the post-Saradha phase. 

The image of senior Trinamool leaders, including several of her ministers caught on tape openly accepting cash bribes, has clearly had a profound impact on the Trinamool supremo.

While it may not have affected her electoral fortunes in West Bengal, both Saradha and Narada have surely demolished her image as a leader who was "incorruptible".

"She often claims herself to be the "epitome of honesty" but interestingly, a circle of corruption is being laid out around her while she remains a mute spectator," says Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

"Before the elections she said that if she had known of those leaders (who were caught in Narada sting accepting bribe) then she wouldn't have given them tickets. But now she claims it is all a conspiracy," he adds.

So is Mamata's silence on issues of corruption as good as abetment? Many like Chowdhury have now begun questioning it. Every time there has been a serious allegation of corruption against the Trinamool leadership, Mamata's immediate response has been dismissive at best and crying foul at worst.

"Where did the money come from? This is all foreign money," she had said at a campaign rally soon after the tapes were made public. She also accused the combined opposition of the BJP, the CPI(M) and the Congress of funding the sting to "tarnish" her image.

It was the same after Saradha, and Narada too was no different. Yet again, Mamata played the victim card, terming it a "conspiracy" - a tested formula that has always given her electoral dividends, especially with the masses.

"The sting operation which came out and tried to malign the party, we want to probe the same," Mamata announced last week adding that "several people have tried to put Bengal in the bad light but won't let that happen."

But questions are being raised about the very nature of the probe and the people who have been entrusted with the job. Mamata has yet again fallen back on her favourite IPS officer Rajeev Kumar, whom she reinstated as the Kolkata police commissioner after being unceremoniously removed by the election commission before the Assembly polls over charges of being "partisan". 

As expected, the Opposition has termed her probe order a complete farce. "She has conveniently fallen back on her old aide who had helped her in the Saradha probe. So where is the credibility," asks Adhir Chowdhury. 

Criticising the move, CPI(M) state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said, "Accused in the Narada sting now declares to conduct an investigation and that too by its henchman cop!! Farce of the highest order!!"

Incidentally, the same 1989 batch IPS officer, known for his proximity to Mamata was also heading the SIT probe into the Saradha scam as Bidhannagar police chief in 2013.

Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate which was simultaneously probing the scam had often alleged that Kumar-led Bidhannagar police was trying to stone-wall their investigation.

So much so that the ED was forced to file an appeal before the Calcutta High Court complaining of "non-cooperation" by the state police over sharing Saradha documents seized by it.

In 2014, Mamata awarded Kumar with the chief minister's police medal for outstanding service.

While Mamata may have sought an "impartial probe", many say the outcome may be predictable, since Mamata has already given a clean chit to her party members.

“As if Suvendu Adhikari and Firhad Hakim are incapable of feeding their families and need such money to survive? Mamata asked while addressing party workers at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor stadium on Saturday.

So the likes of Suvendu Adhikari, Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee and Kolkata mayor Sovon Chatterjee, all "stung" by Narada have been given ministerial berths.

In response, CPI(M) politburo member Surjyakant Mishra tweeted:

After announcing of Enquiry into d Narada sting through her henchman d CM now gives cleanchit 2 all her tainted fellows! Farce again!

— Surjya Kanta Mishra (@SurjyaKMishra) June 19, 2016

So why is Mamata so eager to conduct a parallel probe when both the Calcutta High Court and the Lok Sabha Ethics committee were doing the same anyway?

Well, the answer perhaps lies in how the Trinamool would like to politically counter the possible outcome of the other two probes - by citing the findings of its own government report.