TMC leaders continue dharna at Delhi's Mandir Marg police station
New Delhi (PTI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders who were detained by Delhi Police while staging a dharna outside the Election Commission's office continued their protest at Mandir Marg police station on Tuesday morning.
AAP leaders, including Saurabh Bharadwaj, joined the TMC protest at the police station.
A 10-member TMC delegation met the full bench of the EC on Monday and demanded that the heads of the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency and Income Tax department be changed as they were allegedly acting at the behest of the ruling BJP.
The TMC leaders later announced they were sitting on a 24-hour dharna outside the EC office. The delegation comprised Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, Mohammed Nadimul Haque, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale, Sagarika Ghose, MLA Vivek Gupta, former MPs Arpita Ghosh, Santanu Sen and Abir Ranjan Biswas and TMC West Bengal students' wing vice-president Sudip Raha. The leaders were later detained by Delhi Police and forcefully evicted from the site.
Police said they released the TMC leaders on Monday night. However, the leaders stayed put at the police station through the night and continued their dharna.
"Today, they again came back to the police station. They are still allowed to go but they are not leaving the police station," a police officer said.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Gokhale said the party leaders were continuing their protest at the police station.
"We 10 MPs & former MPs from the TMC started a 24hr peaceful dharna outside the Election Commission last evening... We were manhandled by Delhi Police, detained, taken around Delhi, and finally dumped at Mandir Marg Police Station.
"As we said - our protest is for 24 hrs. We're all at Mandir Marg Police Station, where we were detained, silently carrying on our protest," he said.
"Modi, Shah, & BJP are brazenly using Central Agencies as their campaign tools & going after the Opposition," Gokhale said.
In another post, he thanked AAP leaders for their support.
While all TMC leaders sat inside the police station premises, Haque and Ghose, who had gone out briefly, were not allowed to re-enter. They sat on a dharna outside the boundary of the police station.
"I was here all night and had gone home in the morning. Now we are not being allowed to enter the police station," Haque said.
"They're saying we'll not allow you to join the protest... My point is that a police station is a public place. If an MP is not being allowed inside, what about the common people," he said.
Asked about the police statement that the TMC leaders were released from detention on Monday evening, Haque said, "We had announced a 24-hour dharna. They did not allow us to sit in front of the EC and brought us here. So, we are sitting here," he said.
AAP's Bharadwaj condemned the police action against the TMC leaders.
"TMC leaders went to the EC to demand that the attacks on opposition by agencies like ED, IT (department) and CBI be stopped. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is campaigning across the country every day while raids are being carried out against opposition leaders so that they can't campaign," he said.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has been alleging that the central probe agencies have been targeting opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls at the behest of the BJP-led central government.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
