TMC demands removal of NIA, CBI, ED and I-T chiefs
TMC leader Derek O'Brien speaks with police personnel during a dharna after a meeting with Election Commission of India (ECI), outside ECI's office, in New Delhi on Monday
New Delhi: Top TMC leaders were detained by the Delhi Police on Monday while they were holding a dharna outside the Election Commission's office, demanding that the chiefs of CBI, NIA, ED and Income Tax Department be changed. A 10-member delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) had announced the dharna after meeting a full bench of the Election Commission (EC) to press their demand.
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. “The BJP is misusing central agencies against us. The way NIA, ED and CBI are working and targeting TMC leaders is shameful. We would request the EC to ensure a level playing field for all political parties,” Sen told reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for New Delhi.
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, sparking a political slugfest with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the investigators of assaulting the villagers.