Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, along with MP Derek O’Brien and other legislators, were detained by the Delhi Police on Tuesday night following their protest inside Krishi Bhawan.
Their protest came after their request for a meeting with Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti was denied. The detained TMC leaders have been transported to Utsav Sadan in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi.
A video circulated by TMC MP Saket Gokhale on X depicted Delhi Police personnel forcefully escorting the TMC lawmakers out of the Krishi Bhawan premises.
“TMC MPs & Bengal Govt Ministers led by @abhishekaitc have just now been manhandled & mercilessly dragged from the Min of Rural Development by Delhi Police & DETAINED. This also includes 4 poor MNREGA workers from Bengal who had come to place their grievance before the Minister,” Gokhale wrote on X along with the video.
“After inviting us & keeping us waiting for 3 hours, MoS @SadhviNiranjan quietly slipped out of her office without a meeting. When we protested, Delhi Police, CISF, & RAF manhandled the entire delegation & everyone is now under detention,” he added.
The police detention came as the war of words between the Centre and the West Bengal government over the release of funds to the state escalated with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) holding protests in the national capital for the second consecutive day.