The Chief Minister skipped meals and remained awake the entire night on a makeshift dais here along with some senior ministers and party members.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of having snatched farmers' sleep and while referring to the sops announced in the interim Budget on Friday claimed that the peasants were being cheated before the general elections.

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She virtually threatened the Central government saying that if you have Article 355, 356, we also have section 144. Mamata also said that since exams are starting from February 9, we will continue the dharna till February 8.

Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress chief, said if the government at the Centre changes following the Lok Sabha elections, farmers' interests will be given priority.The chief minister is on a dharna since Sunday night over the CBI's attempt to question the Kolkata Police commissioner in connection with chit fund scams.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and DMK leader Kanimozhi reached Kolkata on Monday evening to express their solidarity with West Bengal CM.

Kolkata: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and DMK leader Kanimozhi meet West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at the stage where she has been sitting on 'Save the Constitution' dharna since 9 PM yesterday over CBI issue. pic.twitter.com/xHO611h2AZ — ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2019

From the dharna site in front of Metro Cinema in the heart of the city, she addressed a state conference of farmers over phone, which the participants at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, about a kilometre from the sit-in site, heard over loudspeakers.

In her address, Banerjee referred to her Singur fast and said, "I sat on fast at the same place for 26 days in 2006 demanding that farmland be returned to farmers and the movement set new precedent as the right of land to farmers got acceptance all over the country." The Metro channel, where she is sitting on a dharna seeking "restoration of the spirit of the Constitution", was the same venue where she held a 26-day hunger strike in 2006 demanding return of farmland to the peasants in Singur, where the Tata Motors' Nano car plant was to come up.

The Tatas finally abandoned the project in West Bengal and went to Sanand in Gujarat on the invitation of then chief minister Narendra Modi and Banerjee was catapulted to power in 2011, defeating the 34-year-old Left Front government.

Claiming that nearly 12,000 farmers have committed suicide in the country in the past couple of years, the TMC supremo on Monday said, "The BJP and the Modi government have snatched farmers' sleep." "Farmers are being cheated before the elections," she alleged.

Banerjee said owing to demonetisation, farmers are in deep distress with many having committed suicide or have lost their livelihood.

"Our government is the only one in the country which does not acquire farmland and have returned acquired land in Singur," the chief minister said.

Highlighting several schemes and benefits that her government has given to farmers since 2011, she claimed Rs 1,200 crore have been spent by her government for the purpose.

Banerjee claimed to have tripled the income of farmers in Bengal and said that over one crore people benefitted from various social security programmes of the state government.

"The Modi government is saying that by 2022, farmers' income will be doubled, but in Bengal we have already tripled their income," she said.

Listing the sops offered by her government, Banerjee said it has already given financial benefits to 30,000 farmers under 'Krishi Bondhu' scheme under which they will get assistance of Rs 5,000 per acre in two instalments, one during kharif and another during rabi season.

Paddy was being directly purchased at kisan mandis under the 'dhaan din cheque nin' (give paddy receive cheque) scheme under which the government aimed to buy 40 lakh tonnes of paddy, she said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who began a sit-in protest over the CBI's attempt to question the Kolkata Police chief in connection with chit fund scams, said Monday she will continue her "Satyagraha" till the country and its Constitution are "saved". Meanwhile, the CBI is set to move SC against the Kolkata cops.

CBI in its petition said Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar was summoned multiple times but failed to cooperate and created hurdles in the investigation.

Rajanth Singh said in Lok Sabha that stopping CBI from performing its duty was 'unprecedented' and called the face-off between Kolkata Police and CBI 'unfortunate'.

He said that the there may be 'constitutional breakdown in Bengal' and added that that the Centre had the power to maintain normalcy in any part of the country. He went on to call the incident a threat to the federal political system of the country.

A confidential report prepared by West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi was sent to the Home Ministry.

#CBIvsKolkataPolice. Kolkata Police served notice to #CBI Joint Director Pankaj Srivastav in connection with the cheating case. Police has registered case today based on a very old cheating complaint of Rs 45 lakh pic.twitter.com/pg7dhT0sQf — Sumit Kumar Singh (@invincibleidea) February 4, 2019

Read: CBI vs Mamata Banerjee - Didi gets Opp support



Asked if any of the leaders would arrive in the city to meet her, Banerjee said, "I've no idea about that. If someone wants to come, we will welcome them. This fight is not by my party. It is for my government".

Several party supporters from different districts thronged the area shouting slogans in support of Banerjee.

CM Mamata Banerjee holds 'dharna', opposition backs Mamata. pic.twitter.com/oJS9jPxfdA — Zee News (@ZeeNews) February 4, 2019

"We have come here in support of our beloved didi. We stand in support of her," said a supporter Poritosh Sengupta from Halisahar.

In an unprecedented development Sunday evening, Banerjee sat on a dharna, protesting CBI's attempt to quiz Kolkata Police chief Rajeev Kumar in connection with chit fund scams.

Describing her sit-in over the CBI's attempt to question Kolkata Police chief as a "non-political" protest, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said support has poured in for her from different quarters of the country.

The chief minister, who has been sitting on a dharna since 8.30pm Sunday on a makeshift dais at Metro Channel here, said she will continue her "satyagraha" till the country and its Constitution are "saved".

Banerjee also asked his party members to ensure that the protest was peaceful.

The unprecedented development came after the CBI's attempt to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with multi-crore chit fund scams.

.@mamataofficial’s goons have vandalised the BJP party office in Bhawanipore, South Kolkata. Mamata represents the Bhawanipore constituency.



Law and order has completely collapsed! No one is safe under TMC. #MamataFreeBengal pic.twitter.com/v28er7Sb80 — BJP Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) February 4, 2019

The CBI team, which went to Kumar's residence in the city's Loudon Street area Sunday, was denied permission, bundled into police jeeps and whisked to a police station.

Welcoming support for her dharna, Banerjee said, "It's not a political programme. But all political parties can join us in our protest." Banerjee maintained that Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, DMK president MK Stalin and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti were among those who called up to express solidarity to her protest.

The TMC chief Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah of trying to organise a coup in the state.

She also alleged that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was directing the CBI to harass political opponents, as per orders of the prime minister.

Addressing her party workers, who raised slogans against Modi near her dais, Banerjee said, "We want a peaceful demonstration. Please do not burn any effigies here." The dias displayed a banner saying"Save the constitution, save the federal structure, save the police force, save the Indian Administrative Service and all ranks of civil service from disaster".

The CM skipped meals and remained awake the entire night on the dais here along with some senior ministers and party members.

Criticising reports that questioned the presence of senior police officers at the demonstration, Banerjee said, "It's a programme of the government and that's why police officers are here." The TMC supremo had earlier said she would not attend the Assembly, where the state budget would be placed by Finance Minister Amit Mitra, on Monday.

Prior to that, a cabinet meeting would be held inside a makeshift room set up behind the stage.

A CBI team, which went to Kumar's residence in the city's Loudon Street area, was denied permission, bundled into police jeeps and were whisked to a police station.

The CBI wants to quiz Kumar, who led a Special Investigation Team of West Bengal police probing the scams, regarding missing documents and files.

Several political leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister M Chandrababu Naidu, R J D national president Lalu Prasad, came out in support of Banerjee.

Gandhi called up Banerjee and extended support to her, saying the entire opposition is together and it will defeat the fascist forces.