West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (File)
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday lashed out at the Centre and the Assam government after a delegation of Trinamool Congress party (TMC) MPs were detained and allegedly manhandled at Silchar Airport by Assam Police on Thursday. The delegation was on a two-day visit to the state where they were scheduled to participate in a convention against the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) which was released on Monday.
While addressing the media, the TMC head honcho said, “A parliamentary delegation went to meet the people (in Assam). They were not allowed outside the airport. Why is the Assam government behaving like this, along with the Centre? This is a political vendetta. The BJP only has muscle power.”
She asked, “If Section 144 has been imposed in the area, why couldn’t the delegation go in groups of two and meet the affected people whose names have not appeared on the NRC list?”
I think this is the beginning of their end. They are frustrated. That is why they are acting like a bunch of hooligans: @mamataofficial
— AITC (@AITCofficial) August 2, 2018
Alleging that her party MPs were manhandled by the Assam Police, the chief minister said, “The police have roughed up the members, even the female members. Four female MPs and one female MLA besides a state minister and our party’s chief whip in Rajya Sabha – all of them were subjected to this uncalled-for behaviour.”
Upping the ante against the BJP-led government at the Centre, Mamata said, “I think this is the beginning of their end. They are frustrated. That is why they are acting like a bunch of hooligans.”
On West Bengal BJP state unit chief Dilip Ghosh’s earlier remarks that NRC would be implemented in the state if the BJP was voted to power, the TMC head said, “Who are they? What significance do they have in West Bengal? Nobody knows them. They are just some hooligans. Their existence itself is in question and they will implement NRC here? I will see how they intervene.”
The TMC supremo’s reaction came after ix Trinamool Congress and two MLA were detained at Silchar Airport earlier in the day.
#WATCH Trinamool Congress MP and MLA delegation detained at Silchar airport #NRCAssam pic.twitter.com/G8l2l3OEFp
— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2018
According to the MPs, which consisted of Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Nadimul Haque, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Bala Thakur, Firhad Hakim and Mahua Moitra, the team arrived at the airport this afternoon and was supposed to participate in the convention, besides visiting various parts of the state.
“As soon as we reached the arrival lounge of the Silchar airport, we were confronted by a team comprising of the district magistrate and police officers. A police personnel hit me on my chest. The cops also manhandled Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Mamata Bala Thakur and Mahua Moitra,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray alleged.
“We will sit here till the time they don’t allow us to go out,” he said, adding that they are waiting for instructions from the party leadership to decide on their next step.
Lok Sabha MP from Barasat Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, “There are hundreds of policemen here. They did not allow us to leave the airport. They were taking our pictures. I asked them on the basis of which law are they doing this. The cops have snatched away our cellphones. They even manhandled Mahua Moitra and Mamatabala Thakur. Sukhendu Shekhar Ray was also thrashed.”
She added, “”Even a magistrate was present at the airport where we were confined to a room. They were not listen to reason,” said Ghosh Dastidar.
Local channels played video clips of police personnel jostling with the TMC delegation.
Four of my Lok Sabha colleagues (all women) and a lady MLA in the 8 member Trinamool delegation to Assam. #Shame at the way they were roughed up, pushed around, beaten. Video footage on channels. Here is what LS MP @SaugataRoyMP said on the issue #NRCAssam https://t.co/S7t0yjZhfS
— Derek O’Brien (@derekobrienmp) August 2, 2018
While addressing the media, TMC MP Derek O’Brien also trained the guns on the Centre and said, “There is super emergency. The delegation did not go to break the law. They are the lawmakers and not the law breakers. A woman MLA accompanying the delegation was injured. One of the MPs is a heart patient who has a pacemaker. He was pushed,” he said.
The MP added, “TMC had asked the Home Ministry to give a statement in Rajya Sabha but Rajnath Singh did not come. We will fight this. This is a super emergency.”
However, hitting out at the party, BJP’s Dilip Ghosh said, “They (TMC) are the problem. Who asked the TMC MPs to go there? No one else has gone there. They have gone there to spread tension and create trouble. They should come back.”
Ghosh added, “Our MPs were obstructed in a similar way when we tried to visit any trouble-hit area in Bengal. TMC leaders have no business in Assam.”
BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said, “If they try to create unrest in Assam, the administration will take action. They should be forced out of the state.”