Arrest me too, dares Didi as she camps at CBI HQ for 6 hours

KOLKATA: “Arrest me too.”
These three words from Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to CBI DIG Akhilesh Kumar at the agency’s 14th-floor office in Nizam Palace summed up the Trinamool’s response to the CBI arrest of three of its senior leaders, with the party pulling out all stops to portray it as “an act of vengeance after the humiliating assembly poll loss”.
“Our stand is very clear: we have opposed the arrests and their legality as they have been effected without the assembly speaker’s permission,” Trinamool leader and advocate Anindya Raut said, explaining the CM’s dare to the CBI.
Word soon went out to the hundreds of Trinamool supporters outside, whose numbers swelled as word spread of Banerjee’s arrival at the CBI office at 10.47am. Anti-CBI and anti-BJP slogans rent the air and bricks and other missiles flew in the direction of central forces guarding Nizam Palace as Kolkata Police personnel tried to control the situation.
Monday’s drama started as early as 6.30am, when CBI officers walked into Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra’s Bhowanipore home to bring him to Nizam Palace. Three other leaders — state cabinet ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee and former mayor Sovan Chatterjee — were picked up over the next two-and-a-half hours as CBI officers initially said they were taking the politicians for “questioning”, which changed to “arrests” an hour later.
Banerjee stepped into the CBI’s eastern zonal headquarters within minutes of the official “arrest” announcement. A posse of Trinamool leaders — Beliaghata MLA Paresh Pal, Kasba MLA and minister Javed Khan, Behala East MLA Ratna Chatterjee, Rashbehari MLA Debashis Kumar, Debra MLA Humayun Kabir, Chowringhee MLA Nayana Bandyopadhyay, Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee, Kolkata South MP Mala Roy and Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen — arrived within an hour with aides and lawyers and camped in the visitors’ room on the 14th floor.
State industries minister arrived some time later, describing the CBI arrest as “a desperate act of political vendetta”. “The BJP waited for six years for this day. Bengal’s voters have rejected the party but it is so shameless that it refuses to accept people’s verdict and goes on playing these petty games,” he added.
Banerjee first got medicines for Mukherjee, Hakim and Mitra and sent word to the 74-year-old Mukherjee not to remove his mask at any point during the interrogation. Outside, however, Covid-safety norms were tossed aside as angry Trinamool supporters — who came in cars and on bikes, trucks and buses — converged on Lower Circular Road to demand the “immediate release” of the Trinamool leaders.
“Madan-da had not even woken up when CBI officials entered his home and picked him up. He has just recovered from Covid 19 and is still not well. How can the BJP stoop so low?” asked a demonstrator.
“Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy, too, featured in the same sting operation. Why have they been spared? Isn’t this too brazen even by the low standards of Indian politics?” asked another supporter as cries of “CBI BJP-r dalal (CBI is BJP’s agent)” rent the air.
A portion of the thoroughfare was shut down as a few of the demonstrators set fire to tyres and pelted bricks and wooden planks at the five companies of CRPF personnel in combat suits guarding the Nizam Palace gates. CBI officials finally decided to produce the arrested politicians virtually and not take them physically to Bankshall Court. The virtual proceedings were over around 4.45pm and CM Banerjee exited the CBI office five minutes later.