The Delhi Police on Monday detained 10 leaders of the Trinamool Congress party as they staged a sit-in protest outside the headquarters of the Election Commission at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi, the party said.
Earlier in the day, a 10-member delegation of West Bengal’s ruling party had met with a full bench of the poll panel to lodge a complaint against the Centre’s apparent misuse of central agencies – particularly the National Investigation Agency but also the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation – to target members of the Opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
They delegation subitted a memorandum to the poll body alleging that a Bharatiya Janata Party member, Jitendra Tiwari, had met with National Investigation Agency Superintendent of Police Dhan Ram Singh on March 26. The party said that Tiwari was seen entering Singh’s residence with a packet in hand but left empty-handed.
“There is reason to believe that the packet contained a list of names of AITC’s [All India Trinamool Congress] booth-level workers and local leaders who were meant to be targeted and/or arrested by the NIA under written instructions from BJP,” read the memorandum. “It is further believed that the packet contained monetary consideration for NIA’s Mr Singh, in exchange for him carrying out BJP’s illegal biddings.”
The memorandum also sought the Election Commission’s permission to release necessary funds for the people affected by severe weather in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts.
After the meeting, the party leaders decided to stage a 24-hour dharna outside the Election Commission’s office demanding a transfer of the chiefs of the Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department, reported PTI.
However, the party leaders said that they were detained an hour into their protest, reported NDTV. This was after they declined repeated requests to leave the spot.
Among those detained were Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O’Brien, Mohammed Nadimul Haque, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose, MLA Vivek Gupta, and former MPs Arpita Ghosh, Santanu Sen and Abir Ranjan Biswas.
The Trinamool Congress said in a social media post: “Every time we visit the capital to demand our rights, this is how our representatives are treated. We strongly condemn this heavy-handed treatment. We assure you, the more you try to suppress us, the louder the voice of protest will grow!”
The party also alleged that its female MPs were “pushed, shoved, and dragged on the ground” and that Dola Sen had sustained an injury on her leg.
This came on a day when the National Investigation Agency summoned three Trinamool Congress leaders – Subir Maity, Manab Kumar Parua and Naba Kumar Panda – in connection with its probe into the 2022 Bhupatinagar blast, reported The Indian Express.
Maity, Parua and Panda had ignored summons by the agency last week.
On Saturday, the investigative agency said that two men, identified as Balai Charan Maity and Manobrata Jana, had been arrested for their alleged role in the blast. Both are Trinamool Congress workers.
The counter-terrorism law enforcement agency said that the arrests were made after extensive searches at five locations, including at Jana’s house where an “aggressive” crowd tried to “assault” its team.
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