Several top Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders were detained by the Delhi police today after several of them sat on a 24-hour dharna outside the Election Commission office in New Delhi, demanding the immediate replacement of the heads of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Criminal Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Income Tax department.
The delegation included top names from the TMC, including Derek O'Brien, Sagarika Ghose, and Saket Goakhle.
Responding to the police action, the party termed it as 'abduction,' and further called it a 'reign of tyranny.'
"What is happening to our representatives in Delhi tantamounts to ABDUCTION – dragged into police vans and whisked away to undisclosed locations, their rights trampled upon with impunity.PM @narendramodi, the nation bears witness to your reign of tyranny," the party said on its X handle.
As reported by news outlets, earlier today the NIA had extended its scrutiny to three additional local TMC leaders in connection to the 2022 Bhupatinagar blast in West Bengal's East Medinipur district. TMC leaders, Subir Maity, Manab Kumar Parua, and Naba Kumar Panda have all been called to appear at the NIA office in Kolkata's New Town at 2 pm on Monday, according to officials.
Although previously summoned by the NIA last week, Maity, Parua, and Panda failed to present themselves before the agency. The NIA attempted to locate them in the area on Sunday but was unsuccessful, resorting to serving the notice to them instead.
Talking to reporters outside the EC office today, TMC leader Dola Sen alleged that the ruling BJP was using central agencies against the opposition. "The BJP is using central agencies against us. The actions of NIA, ED, and CBI against TMC leaders are disgraceful. We urge the EC to ensure a fair playing field for all parties," she said.