West Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra, and former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chattopadhyay, who were arrested by CBI in the Narada bribery case, were granted bail by a sessions court on Monday evening. The arrested leaders were produced at Bankshall Court through a virtual hearing from Nizam Palace.
Earlier in the day, soon after the arrests took place, hundreds of TMC activists took out protest rallies in the city and elsewhere in West Bengal, flouting lockdown guidelines.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress leaders rushed to the CBI office. Banerjee тАЬtold our officers that they have to arrest her if they want her to leave Nizam Palace,тАЭ sources in the central probe agency told PTI. The sources said BanerjeeтАЩs actions are akin to interference in the probe handed over to the agency by the Calcutta High Court. When she left the place in the evening, Banerjee told reporters, тАЬCourt will give the decision.тАЭ
At the CBIтАЩs Nizam Palace office, TMC supporters broke barriers set up before the main gate and took to sloganeering against Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They also threw bricks and bottles at the central forces who stood guard in front of the office premises.
#WATCH | Security forces carried out baton charges against TMC protesters outside the CBI office in West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/yfdWmYLmB4
тАФ ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2021
Many of them also protested in front of the Raj Bhavan against Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who had recently sanctioned the prosecution of the four leaders. Protests broke out in several other areas, including Arambagh in Hooghly district and Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas, where the agitators burnt tyres and blocked roads, demanding immediate release of party leaders.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the partyтАЩs youth wing president, urged the demonstrators to have faith in the judiciary. тАЬI urge everyone to abide by the law & refrain from any activity that violates lockdown norms for the sake of the larger interest of Bengal and its people. We have utmost faith in the judiciary & the battle will be fought legally,тАЭ the Diamond Harbour MP and CM Mamata BanerjeeтАЩs nephew tweeted.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra tweeted, тАЬ2 WB senior Ministers arrested in CBI dawn raid w/ huge CAPF contingent. Totally illegal. NO sanction given by Speaker WB Assembly. Governor says gave sanction on May 9 when cabinet swearing in only happened on May 10- is NOT appropriate authority!тАЭ
In a series of tweets, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar stated that there was тАЬtotal lawlessness & anarchyтАЭ in the state. He tweeted, тАЬMessage @MamataOfficial тАШTotal lawlessness & anarchy. Police and administration in silence mode. Hope you realize repercussions of such lawlessness and failure of constitutional mechanism. Time to reflect and contain this explosive situation that is worsening minute by minute.тАЩтАЭ
He further added, тАЬConcerned at alarming situation. Call upon @MamataOfficial to follow constitutional norms & rule of law. Police @WBPolice @KolkataPolice @HomeBengal ┬аmust take all steps to maintain law & order. ┬аSad- situation is being allowed to drift with no tangible action by authorities.тАЭ
Concerned at alarming situation. Call upon @MamataOfficial to follow constitutional norms & rule of law.
Police @WBPolice @KolkataPolice @HomeBengal must take all steps to maintain law & order.
Sad- situation is being allowed to drift with no tangible action by authorities.
тАФ Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 17, 2021
Earlier TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee alleged that the governor was being тАЬvindictiveтАЭ in his actions. тАЬThe governor is unhappy with the mandate that Mamata Banerjee got this time. The governor 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 TMCтАж You know SC made a judgment during COVID-19 times that police canтАЩt unnecessarily detain, arrest any person. Despite that, CBI & police have arrested (our members),тАЭ Banerjee was quoted as saying by ANI.
WeтАЩre moving to court. You know SC made a judgment during COVID-19 times that police canтАЩt unnecessarily detain, arrest any person. Despite that, CBI & police have arrested (our members): TMC MP over the arrest of 4 TMC leaders by CBI pic.twitter.com/pzyTrKJSyz
тАФ ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2021
тАЬThe daily passengers to Bengal, who were summarily rejected by the people of the state during elections, have hatched a conspiracy for backdoor entry, amid this pandemic-induced crisis,тАЭ TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh was quoted as saying by PTI.
Ghosh, too, urged the party supporters to exercise restraint and not get swayed by emotions. He also sought to know why no action had been taken against Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari, two leaders who have quit the TMC to join BJP, given the fact that their names had also surfaced in the case.
Rejecting the allegations, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said both Roy and Adhikari had тАЬco-operated with the CBI investigation, unlike those who have been taken into custodyтАЭ. He slammed the protesters for openly flouting the lockdown norms. тАЬInstead of demonstrating on the streets, the party should seek a legal remedy,тАЭ he added.
The sting operation was purportedly conducted by Mathew Samuel of Narada TV news channel in 2014 wherein people resembling TMC ministers, MPs and MLAs were allegedly seen receiving money from representatives of a fictitious company in lieu of favours.
The tapes were made public just before the 2016 assembly elections in West Bengal. The Calcutta High Court had ordered a CBI probe into the sting operation in March 2017.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
