A delegation of eight Trinamool Congress leaders was detained at the Silchar Airport in Assam on Thursday. The party had announced that the eight leaders—thought to be two MLAs and six MPs—would visit Assam to assess the condition of Bengalis who have been allegedly excluded from the recently released draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
TMC MP Derek O'Brien described the detention of the delegation visiting Assam as a “super emergency-like” situation. O'Brien claimed delegation members were manhandled. The Assam government had stepped up security outside the Silchar Airport; the delegation was expected to hold a public meeting on the NRC in Silchar on Thursday evening, before going to Guwahati the next day.
TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who is a member of the delegation, told reporters that the police stopped them at the airport on their arrival, saying their visit might create trouble.
The TMC delegation was kept in the VIP lounge of the airport. The Cachar district administration on Wednesday night issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code and banned entry of any person not involved with the NRC process in the district.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had announced on the day the NRC was released that a party delegation would be visiting Assam. Banerjee alleged the NRC was an attempt to evict Bengalis from Assam and polarise the electorate.
The TMC had announced that the delegation would comprise six MPs (Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Nadimul Haque, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur) and two MLAs (MLA Mohua Moitra and West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim).
Banerjee has emerged as a prominent critic of the NRC, which she alleges is being used by the BJP to make inroads in West Bengal also. On Tuesday, the West Bengal BJP chief announced the party would compile an NRC in the state if voted to power.
(With agency inputs)