Over the arrests of four Trinamool Congress leaders by the CBI today, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said that the party is moving to the court. The leader said that the Supreme Court had made a judgment during COVID-19 times that police can't unnecessarily detain, arrest any person. "Despite that, CBI and police have arrested our party members," he said.
He also slammed the West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar saying that the guv has vindictively done this without consultation of state govt. He also said that Mr Dhankar has become a bloodsucker. "He is now trying to secure a ticket before the 2024 elections from BJP, that is why he is doing whatever he pleases against TMC," he added.
The party leader also said that he should not stay here for even a minute and that he is roaming around here like a mad dog.
The central agency arrested Trinamool Congress leaders Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee and Madan Mitra as well as former party leader Sovan Chatterjee in connection with Narada case this morning. All four of them were ministers during the time of the alleged commission of the offence in 2014 and presently, Hakim and Mukherjee serve as members of Banerjee's Cabinet. Mitra was also recently re-elected as an MLA, while Chatterjee, who left the TMC to join the BJP, has severed links with both parties.
Violence has erupted outside CBI's Kolkata office, where West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is sitting in dharna to protest the arrest of four of her Trinamool Congress leaders. Thousands of Trinamool supporters encircled the Nizam Palace and started pelting stones at central para-military forces guarding the office.
Local police was trying to ward off the angry Trinamool supporters but without success so far. Tension ran high as Mamata Banerjee rushed to the 15th floor of the 'Nizam Palace', where the CBI has the office of its anti-corruption cell.