Cooch Behar, April 20 -- The political atmosphere in West Bengal has intensified ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, with Udayan Guha, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate for the Dinhata Assembly Constituency, expressing concerns over the possible arrest of several party legislators.
Speaking to reporters on Monday after meeting the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) in Dinhata, Guha claimed that multiple TMC MLAs could face arrest in the coming days. He also apprehended that he himself might be arrested. According to him, such actions are being orchestrated by the Election Commission of India in coordination with central agencies to demoralise the ruling party's leadership and cadre.
Guha referred to a list of leaders, labelled "troublemakers" published in an English-language newspaper, which reportedly includes the names of ten TMC MLAs. The inclusion of leaders such as Paresh Adhikary and himself from Cooch Behar has triggered political concern in the district.
He alleged that there may be attempts to place active MLAs under house arrest or detain them ahead of polling day to prevent them from engaging with voters and party workers.
Claiming that the list was prepared with a specific intent to restrict political movement, Guha said the TMC has already approached the Calcutta High Court seeking legal intervention. He added that his meeting with the SDO was aimed at formally conveying his apprehensions regarding the issue.
"The intention is to stop us from moving freely and reaching out to people during the elections.
They may even arrest me to achieve this. Given the current functioning of the Election Commission, such fears are not unfounded," Guha said.
Appealing to the public, he added: "If I am arrested, I urge the people of the district to protest against this injustice through their votes."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.