NEW DELHI : The Delhi Police on Monday detained Trinamool Congress(TMC) leaders who were sitting on a protest outside the Election Commission of India office in Delhi, demanding that the chiefs of the CBI, NIA, ED, and Income Tax Department be changed.
A 10-member delegation of Trinamool Congress sat on a 24-hour dharna outside the Election Commission of India office in the national capital, demanding that the chiefs of CBI, NIA, ED and Income Tax Department be changed. The leaders carried placards in their hands, which read “NIA DG, ED, CBI Directors Change Now”. The protest, along with the leaders’ demand, comes as the row over the NIA team attack in West Bengal last week intensifies further.
This came after the delegation met a full bench of the apex poll body over their demands. The TMC has been alleging that the central probe agencies have been targeting opposition parties at the behest of the BJP-led Centre.
TMC MPs 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 were detained. The party has been alleging that the central probe agencies have been targeting opposition parties at the behest of the BJP-led Centre.
Speaking to reporters during the protest, Sagarika Ghose said, “We have been protesting against the manner in which the central agencies – ED, CBI, IT, NIA – are acting on behalf of the BJP in the general elections of 2024.  TMC leaders included Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose who met a full bench of the Election Commission (EC) over their demands.The TMC has alleged that the central probe agencies have been working at the behest of the BJP and targetting the Opposition leaders. We have just met the full bench of the Election Commission, and we have demanded that the Election Commission urgently intervene and protect the sanctity of the election process.”
The protest comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warning that at a recent election rally in Jalpaiguri that action against corruption will pick up pace after June 4, when the results of the election are to be declared. “Should we not end corruption? Should we not send corrupt people to jail? Should we not get rid of the TMC corruption? This is a Modi’s guarantee,” he had said.
The TMC alleged on Sunday an “unholy alliance” between the NIA and the BJP ahead of elections, prompting the central investigating agency to deny any mala fide intention and label the entire controversy as “unfortunate”. A team of the NIA was allegedly attacked by a mob on Saturday when it went to arrest two main suspects in a 2022 blast case in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district. The incident sparked a political row in the state with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the investigators of assaulting the villagers “and not the other way round”.
A 10-member delegation of Bengal’s ruling TMC  sitting on a dharna outside the Delhi headquarters of the Election Commission, have been detained by the police. Visuals from the spot showed the police pushing, pulling and in some cases, lifting the MPs, and loading them onto a waiting bus.
The chiefs of four central investigation committees should be removed by the Commission ahead of the election, they have demanded. The party has now said it would continue its 24-hour dharna inside the Mandir Marg police station.
The police action started an hour into the dharna, when the leaders declined repeated requests to leave after meting the poll commissioners. Visuals from the spot showed the 63-year-old Mr O’Brien being hauled to the bus by a couple of policemen. The leaders are alleging that the central agencies are focussing on Opposition leaders ahead of the general election and the motive of the arrests made by the agencies is purely political.
“In a case of 2022 an arrest is made in 2024 by the NIA. Law and order is a state subject and the local police should have been informed… Strictly the chiefs of the four central agencies should be changed,” said Trinamool MP Dola Sen.  “We had met the EC officials on April 1. A level playing field is basic in electoral democracy,’ said Sagarika Ghosh.
“The manner in which officials CBI, NIA, ED and Income Tax are acting, they appear to be branch members of BJP. It is making the life of opposition difficult.  Giving examples, she said in on the intervening night of April 5 and 6, raids were conducted without informing local police. “This time, action has been taken by the NIA in a two-year-old case… Homes of women were raided at 3 am in the morning. Officials barged into the houses at 3 am, where they harassed and molested women,” she said
Meanwhile, TMC  and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said today that her party is not scared. But the BJP, she alleged, is using the agencies for political purpose. “They say Modi ka Guarantee. What is Modi’s guarantee? That he will put everyone in jail after June 4,” she alleged. Last week on Satuday, a team of the NIA was allegedly attacked by a mob when it went to arrest two main suspects in a 2022 blast case in West Bengal’s Purba  Medinipur district, sparking a political slugfest with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the investigators of assaulting the villagers.
(With Agencies Inputs).

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