Amid apprehensions (read trepidations) within the Trinamool Congress about whether Mamata Banerjee was going to become the "next target" of the Enforcement Directorate after Arvind Kejriwal, the Bengal Chief Minister tended to put up a brave face, "vehemently condemning" on Friday the central agencies act of arresting her Delhi counterpart ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and wondering why only the Opposition Chief Ministers and not their BJP counterparts were being arrested by the agency in question.
Calling Thursday's arrest of her Delhi counterpart a blatant assault on democracy, Banerjee who was presently recuperating from a head injury that she got a few days ago wrote on the X handle, “I vehemently condemn the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, the sitting elected Chief Minister of Delhi elected by the people. I have personally reached out to Smt Sunita Kejriwal to extend my unwavering support and solidarity”, and called upon the members of the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance to "express strong objection" against the ED's "unconstitutional" act.
The Chief Minister's statement came at a time when the ED officials had swooped down at five locations in Bengal including the residence of a senior TMC leader and State minister Chandranath Sinha at Bolpur.
It is “outrageous that while elected opposition CMs are being deliberately targeted and arrested, individuals accused under CBI/ED investigations are allowed to continue their malpractices with impunity, especially after aligning with the BJP, Banerjee who is also the chairperson of the TMC said.
Kejriwal was on arrested by the ED from his Delhi residence in the night intervening Thursday and Friday in an excise policy-related money-laundering case. Saying that her party too would be represented --- by TMC MPs Derek 'O Brien and Nadimul
Haq --- in the INDIA delegation that was to meet the Election Commission of India on Friday, the Chief Minister said that Kejriwal's arrest was a blatant assault on the democracy as the arrests were done when the Model Code of Conduct was in place.
“This is a blatant assault on democracy. Today, our INDIA alliance will meet the EC to express our strong objection to the deliberate targeting and arrests of opposition leaders, particularlyduring the MCC period … I have designated Derek o' Brien MP and Md Nadimul Haque to represent AITC in this crucial meeting with the Election Commission,” she said. Attacking the BJP Government for letting lose a "reign of terror" ahead of the elections "in order to terrorise the opposition parties so as to win the elections," Bengal Minister Shashi Panja said that "our Chief Minister and the entire TMC stands by the Aam Aadmi Party and its leadership as can be seen from the fact that our Chief Minister has personally spoken to Sunita Kejriwal ji the wife of Arvind Kejriwal ji and expressed solidarity."
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh too condemned Kejriwal's arrest saying that the BJP was doing so because they were sure that they will not be able to win in the elections. "They are almost sure that they are losing … this is why they are trying to hold on to power by hook or by crook."
When contacted Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury and CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty said that the ED was not doing anything to the corrupt leaders who had either joined their party or left the INDIA alliance. "Kejriwal ji has been arrested because he has not left the INDIA alliance … if like Mamata Banerjee he had left the Alliance then he would have escaped this arrest," Chowdhury said referring to how the TMC refused to join cause with the Congress in Bengal. Chakrabarty too said that "BJP will not do anything to its cronies like the TMC even if they steal everything … this is the reason Mamata Banerjee is keeping them in good humor and in return the BJP is not arresting doing anything to her or her nephew Abhishek Banerjee despite their a large number of evidence against them."
Meanwhile, raids were still going on at minister Sinha's residence --- for more than 10 hours --- and he was still being questioned when reports last came in. According to sources Sinha was being questioned about a register --- that was recovered from
the residence of Kuntal Ghosh one of the prime accused in the recruitment scam --- in which about 100 names were mentioned who were allegedly recommended by the minister to him. When asked he however said, "I have done no wrong consciously ever … I will answer all the questions to the best of my knowledge when they ask me."
