Eight TMC MPs detained during protest outside Amit Shah’s office; Mamata Banerjee slams ‘arrogance in uniform’

GNS ONLINE NEWS PORTAL

NEW DELHI JAN, 09:-Eight Trinamool Congress (TMC) Members of Parliament were detained by Delhi Police on Friday while protesting outside the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital. The protest came a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at the offices of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) in Kolkata and at the residence of its founder Pratik Jain, in connection with an old coal smuggling case registered in Delhi.

The TMC questioned the timing of the ED action, alleging political vendetta ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee strongly condemned both the raids and the detention of her party MPs, terming the police action “arrogance in uniform.”

In a statement, Banerjee said, “Dragging elected representatives on the streets for exercising their democratic right to protest outside the Home Minister’s office is not law enforcement — it is arrogance in uniform. This is a democracy, not the BJP’s private property.”

She further accused the BJP of following double standards, stating, “Democracy does not function on the convenience or comfort of those in power. When BJP leaders protest, they expect red carpets and special privileges. When opposition MPs raise their voices, they are dragged, detained, and humiliated. This double standard exposes the BJP’s idea of democracy — obedience, not dissent.”
The detained MPs included Derek O’Brien, Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar, Saket Gokhale, Pratima Mondal, Kirti Azad and Sharmila Sarkar. The MPs staged a demonstration holding placards reading, “Bengal rejects Modi-Shah’s filthy politics” and “Amit Shah + ED versus people of Bengal.”

Visuals shared by the TMC showed police personnel detaining and escorting the MPs, who were later taken to Parliament Street Police Station. The party has accused the BJP-led Centre of misusing central agencies to intimidate the opposition and suppress dissent.