NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has rallied behind the arrested Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders, accusing the BJP-led Centre of trying to suppress democratic rights and silence young people.In a message posted on X on Wednesday, Banerjee condemned the arrests of Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were sent to judicial custody, and assured young people of her support. “Your Didi is with you – today and forever!” she wrote.The arrests came amid opposition protests in Delhi over alleged electoral irregularities and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Why the CJP leaders were arrested
Delhi Police detained CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde on Tuesday. They were accused of allegedly entering the Jantar Mantar area without authorisation and violating peace bonds signed earlier by Ranka and Das.The area was recently denotified as a designated venue for demonstrations. Police alleged that the three leaders breached barricades, entered the restricted area, raised slogans demanding Kumar’s resignation and displayed the National Flag.Shinde was granted bail, while Das and Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody after being produced before an executive magistrate on Wednesday morning. They were subsequently lodged in Tihar Jail.
Mamata calls arrests an attempt to silence youth
Condemning the police action, Banerjee said the fight for democratic rights had continued across generations and called on people to stand together to protect them.“We, and many generations before us, have fought strongly for our democratic rights. We must continue to do so. I strongly condemn the arrest of Ashutosh and Saurav of the CJP. These moments are about us all, pledging and standing up to fight unitedly to protect our great democracy,” she wrote on X.Banerjee described the arrests as an “attempt to intimidate and silence an entire generation” and said people must not give up their constitutional rights.“This is unacceptable. We must never surrender our constitutional rights. This murdering of democracy is happening in many parts of the country. At this moment, 14,000 of our people in Bengal are facing the brunt of police and political atrocities,” she claimed.The Trinamool Congress leader had also joined opposition protests in Delhi demanding Kumar’s resignation. She backed the agitation initiated by the CJP and supported by the INDIA bloc, which has raised allegations of “vote chori” (vote theft) and electoral roll manipulation linked to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.“A government that has forgotten that ‘it is of the people, by the people, for the people’ is nearing its end. To the millions of young people I say: Your Didi is with you – today and forever! Let us stand together and save our Mother India. Jai Hind! Vande Mataram! Joy Bangla!” Banerjee wrote.
Opposition leaders join criticism of Delhi Police
Abhishek Banerjee, the Diamond Harbour MP from the Mamata-led TMC faction, also criticised the arrests, accusing the BJP of targeting people for displaying the national flag.
“The so-called biggest nationalists are now arresting Indians for unfurling and waving the Tricolour in their own country, an act which, according to the Union Government, constitutes a breach of peace. Welcome to the @ BJP4India’s new Pakistanified Bharat,” he wrote on X.Other leaders from the faction, including Derek O’Brien and Mahua Moitra, also criticised the police action.Several opposition figures have voiced concern over the arrests, including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, former Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK leader MK Stalin, AAP leader and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI general secretary D Raja, NCP MP Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray.