TMC leaders detained for staging dharna outside EC office

Trinamool Congress leaders were detained on Monday for staging a 24-hour dharna outside the Election Commission office in the national capital, demanding the removal of the current chiefs of central agencies – Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Income Tax Department.

A 10-member delegation of the TMC including – Derek O’Brien, Mohammed Nadimul Haque, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose, MLA Vivek Gupta, former MPs Arpita Ghosh, Santanu Sen and Abir Ranjan Biswas, and party’s students’ wing West Bengal vice president Sudip Raha – staged the protest after meeting a full bench of the poll body to press their demand.

In a video posted by news agency PTI, the TMC leaders can be seen taken away by the Delhi police in a van. They can be heard shouting slogans like: “Modi hatao, desh bachao” (Remove Modi, save country).

According to the Mamata Banerjee-led party, they are raising the issue of BJP’s “misuse” of NIA to “wrongfully intimidate” its party workers ahead of the general election. “We shall not tolerate such unconstitutional attempts to harm the sanctity of our democracy and have pledged to stand together to take all necessary steps to put an end to such activities,” TMC wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

TMC MP Dola Sen told the media: “The BJP is misusing central agencies against us. The way NIA, ED, and CBI are working and targeting TMC leaders is shameful. We request the EC to ensure a level playing field for all political parties.”

The protest comes as TMC has been alleging that the central probe agencies have been targeting opposition parties at the behest of the BJP-led Centre.

On Sunday, it alleged an “unholy alliance” between the BJP and NIA, a day after a team of the NIA was attacked by a mob in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district. The attack took place as the probe agency arrested two accused – Manobrata Jana and Bailicharan Maity – in a 2022 blast case at a TMC leader’s house.

However, the NIA has issued a statement, refuting all the allegations of ‘mala fide’ in its actions and clarified that the attack was “unprovoked”. According to the NIA, the attack by the mob was an attempt to obstruct it from carrying out its lawful duties.