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”.
He alleged that the police manhandled the protesting party members, and called for a campaign ‘Raj Bhavan Abhiyan’ on Thursday (October 5) against the atrocity.
“Will carry out a campaign ‘Raj Bhavan Abhiyan’ against 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.
“Those who are fighting for the people of Bengal were made to wait for 3 hoursâæThe minister ran away. We were sitting there peacefully but suddenly the security personnel manhandled all of us, including women,” he said.
“The way we were dragged and humiliated, today marks a tainted day in democracy. Photographs don’t lie. The way our MPs were harassed is out in the open,” the TMC General Secretary added.
The Delhi Police had detained around 30 leaders of the TMC 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.
Moitra claimed that several party leaders including female MPs were detained without proper paperwork.
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.
