India, Sept. 18 -- Milan Pradhan, Congress party's candidate for Nandigram bypoll in West Bengal, was arrested hours after former chief minister and TMC founder Mamata Banerjee threw her support for the candidate, the Congress party claimed on Friday.

"Today, Mamata Banerjee-the former Chief Minister-extended her support to Milan Pradhan. Within just a few hours, he was arrested... If you resort to intimidation-refusing to give space to the opposition-do you want autocracy or democracy in this country?... If you think you can stop the Congress or the opposition through such threats, then you are likely under a complete misconception." Congress spokesperson Mita Chakraborty told news agency ANI.

Another senior Congress leader told PTI, "...