‘Black day’ for Indian democracy: Trinamool’s Abhishek Banerjee on detention
Leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), including Abhishek Banerjee, were released by Delhi Police.
In the wee hours of Wednesday after being detained during a sit-in at Krishi Bhawan in Delhi. Speaking to the media after his release from the brief detention, Abhishek Banerjee said it is a “black day for Indian democracy”.
“Those who are fighting for the people of Bengal were made to wait for 3 hours. The minister ran away. We were sitting there peacefully but suddenly the security personnel manhandled all of us, including women,” Banerjee said.
“The way we were dragged and humiliated, today marks a black day for democracy. Photographs don’t lie. The way our MPs were harassed is out in the open,” the TMC general secretary added.
He also alleged that the police manhandled the protesting party members, and called for a ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ march on October 5 in Kolkata.
“I will carry out a ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ campaign against the manhandling done by the police, on October 5 at 3 pm with 1 lakh people at Raj Bhavan. Will also meet the Governor and hand over the 50 lakh letters to him,” Banrejee said.
MAMATA BANERJEE REACTS
TMC president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condemned the police action against her party’s leaders. “Today is a dark, sinister day for democracy, a day when BJP revealed their disdain for the people of Bengal, their disregard for the rights of the poor and a complete abandonment of democratic values,” she said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
“First, they callously withheld crucial funds meant for the poor of Bengal and when our delegation arrived in Delhi, determined to peacefully protest and draw attention to the plight of our people, they were met with brutality – first at Rajghat and then at Krishi Bhavan,” she said in the tweet.
Mamata Banerjee said the Delhi Police acted as the “BJP’s strong-arm” and “shamelessly manhandled” TMC leaders.
“… our representatives… were forcibly removed and whisked away in police vans like common criminals, all because they dared to speak truth to power. Their (BJP’s) arrogance knows no bounds and their pride and egotism have blinded them. They have now crossed all limits to repress the voice of Bengal,” she said.
The Delhi Police had detained around 30 leaders of the TMC on Tuesday during their protest demanding the release of MGNREGA funds. Party members shared videos showing the leaders, including MP Mahua Moitra, being forcibly removed by the police from Krishi Bhawan.
The TMC delegation, led by Abhishek Banerjee and comprising senior party leaders, MPs, and MLAs, has been stationed in Delhi since Monday. They initiated a dharna at Rajghat on Gandhi Jayanti, to demand the release of MGNREGA funds.
On Tuesday, the TMC delegation staged a protest at Jantar Mantar and subsequently marched to the Rural Development Ministry at Krishi Bhawan. They had a scheduled appointment with Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. According to the TMC, the Union minister declined to meet them after a wait of one-and-a-half hours.