"Blatant dictatorship": AAP minister slams Centre over detention of Trinamool leaders

Speaking to the reporters here, the AAP Minister slammed the ruling party at the Centre, calling the detention of the TMC leaders a "blatant dictatorship".

Aam Adami Party leader and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday met the leaders of the Trinamool Congress who were detained by the city police here while they were holding a dharna outside the Election Commission's office, demanding that the chiefs of the central probe agencies be changed. Bharadwaj arrived at Mandir Marg police station to meet TMC leaders on Tuesday.

Speaking to the reporters here, the AAP Minister slammed the ruling party at the Centre, calling the detention of the TMC leaders a "blatant dictatorship". "It's a blatant tanasahi (dictatorship) in the country today. What TMC legislators and MPs are saying? MCC is in force. PM is doing campaigning across the country; opposition leaders are raided by CBI, I-T, ED, and now NIA has reached also, but only against opposition parties, why? This indicates that these institutions nowadays come under the EC and have given open freedom to derail the campaign of opposition parties. If you raid someone's residence, will that person hold a campaign or will meet a lawyer?" Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

Asserting that his party stands with Trinamool Congress, the AAP leader questioned the Delhi Police why it did not arrest the BJP leaders who held a rally in the CP area a day before. "MCC is implemented in the country. All agencies and government functioning should come under neutral EC, but the way ED and NIA raids are being done on opposition leaders shows that the Central government wants to silence the opposition in this Lok Sabha elections. TMC MPs and elected representatives are detained at a police station in New Delhi. Their demand is that the four agencies - ED, CBI, I-T and NIA- which have caused 'tandav', their heads should be changed.... We stand with Trinamool Congress," he said.

"BJP did a demonstration in CP, who gave permission for it? They were not arrested. Was a case registered against Virendraa Sachdeva (BJP Delhi chief)?" he asked. A delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders has been protesting inside the Mandir Marg police station in Delhi since Monday night against their detention, even though the police claimed they were already released.

During the dharna outside the ECI office, the TMC leaders demanded that the chiefs of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA) Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department be changed. Those who staged the protest included five TMC MPs Derek O'Brien, Mohammad Nadimul Haq, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghosh.

At the same time, three former MPs Arpita Ghosh, Shantanu Sen and Abir Ranjan Biswas were present. Apart from this, MLA Vivek Gupta and TMC youth leader Sudeep Raha were also protesting. (ANI)

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