In a dramatic display of political confrontation, several Trinamool Congress (TMC) Members of Parliament, including prominent faces Derek O’Brien and Mahua Moitra, were detained by Delhi Police on Friday after they staged a protest outside the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The protest, which also included MPs Satabdi Roy and Kirti Azad, was swiftly disrupted by police personnel who removed and detained the lawmakers from the spot.
The MPs were protesting against what the TMC alleges is the politically motivated misuse of central investigative agencies—the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)—to harass the opposition ahead of the general elections. The immediate trigger was a series of ED raids on Thursday at premises linked to Pratik Jain, chief of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), a political consultancy that has worked with the TMC in the past.
As they were being led away, the TMC leaders issued sharp condemnations and rallying cries.
“We will defeat the BJP. The country is seeing how the Delhi Police is treating an elected MP,” declared Mahua Moitra, framing the detention as an assault on democratic rights. Derek O’Brien pointedly stated, “You are seeing what is happening to the MPs here,” appealing directly to public perception.
The accusations from the protesting MPs were unequivocal. Kirti Azad alleged, “ED conducted the raids in a wrong way, and this is an attempt to win the elections in an undemocratic manner. BJP will not win the elections this manner.” Echoing the sentiment, Satabdi Roy claimed, “They send the teams of ED, CBI during the elections just to win, but they won't win the elections…” The MPs collectively asserted that these actions were a desperate attempt to suppress the voice of the opposition.
The party’s official reaction was even more blistering. In a social media post directed at Home Minister Amit Shah, the TMC wrote: “What kind of arrogance is this? Are you now using your Delhi Police to assault elected representatives just to crush democracy? Is this how dissent is silenced in your India? Admit it, YOU ARE RATTLED!”
The post further accused the ruling dispensation of “shameless misuse of the ED” and described the police action against the MPs’ “peaceful dharna” as an “attack.” It concluded with a defiant Bengali phrase, “JOTOI KORO HAMLA ABAR JITBE BANGLA!” (However much you attack, Bengal will win again!).
This incident is not isolated. It occurs amidst a widening political chasm, with multiple opposition parties consistently accusing the central government of weaponizing agencies like the ED and CBI for political gain. The TMC is simultaneously holding protests in West Bengal against the raids on I-PAC.
The detention of sitting MPs outside the Home Minister’s office has quickly become a potent symbol for the opposition, emblematic of their charge that democratic dissent is being criminalized. For the ruling party, such protests are often dismissed as theatrics to deflect from legitimate investigations into corruption.
As the election atmosphere intensifies, this clash in the heart of Delhi underscores the deepening tensions and sets the stage for a fiercely contested battle where accusations of institutional misuse and the defense of democratic space are likely to remain central themes. The police action may have cleared the street, but it has amplified a political storm that shows no sign of abating.
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