Delhi Police detained Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O'Brien, and several other lawmakers following their sit-in protest inside Krishi Bhawan. They were seeking a meeting with Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti but were denied. The TMC leaders have been transported to Utsav Sadan in Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar.
A senior police officer, who preferred not to be named, stated, "Over two dozen TMC supporters have been detained, including Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien."
Videos doing rounds on social media depicted Delhi Police personnel forcibly removing the TMC lawmakers from the Krishi Bhawan premises.
The TMC leaders' delegation had reached at MoS Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's office for a 6 pm meeting today. However, they were informed at 7:30 pm that she wouldn't be able to meet them. The delegation, led by Banerjee, sat on Dharna inside the Krishi Bhawan saying they won't move from there until she meets them.
Following their insistence, Delhi police reportedly entered the premises and forcefully vacated the place by detaining the TMC leaders, the party claimed.
A video of TMC MP Mahua Moitra posted a video of her being dragged by the Delhi Police from the Krishi Bhawan. Moitra was heard shouting, "How can you do this to an MP?"
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Moitra wrote, "This is how elected MPs of the world’s largest democracy are treated after being given an appointment to meet with a Minister of the Govt of India (which she refused to honour after making us wait 3 hours)."
Abhishek Banerjee, along with party leaders and supporters, started a sit-in protest at Rajghat in New Delhi on Monday, demanding the release of funds for West Bengal from the Centre.
The demonstration is in response to what they claim is a delay in the disbursement of funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in West Bengal.
The party had demanded a meeting with the minister regarding the same issues.
