A political exchange broke out on social media between Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool Congress rebel faction leader Ritabrata Banerjee over the arrest of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan for the Nandigram Assembly bypoll.
Pradhan was arrested on Friday evening in connection with cases dating back to the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition movement, shortly after Mamata Banerjee announced that her faction would support his candidature. The sequence of events triggered reactions from Congress and the rival Trinamool faction.
Gandhi alleged that Pradhan's arrest was politically motivated and questioned the circumstances surrounding the action. In a post on social media, he said, “The arrest of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan for the Nandigram by-election is no coincidence—it is political revenge, the murder of democracy.” He further alleged that the BJP was attempting to undermine electoral competition and said, “The Congress will neither fear nor bow down. We will fight—and we will win.”
Ritabrata Banerjee, who heads the rival Trinamool faction, responded by citing the cases pending against Pradhan. He said his faction, the Democratic Trinamool Congress, had lodged a complaint against the Congress candidate.
“We, the Democratic Trinamool Congress have lodged a complaint against Milan Pradhan, who has three murder cases pending against him,” Banerjee said in his social media post. He added that warrants are required to be executed during elections and alleged that the state Congress leadership had not provided Gandhi with the details of the cases.
The exchange followed a series of developments in Nandigram. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool faction's candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew her nomination on Friday. Banerjee subsequently announced support for Pradhan, who was then arrested by police.
The police have said the arrest relates to pending cases originating in 2007 and that an arrest warrant had been issued against Pradhan. The Congress and Mamata Banerjee have questioned the timing, while Banerjee's rival Trinamool faction has maintained that the arrest followed existing legal proceedings.
The Nandigram bypoll is scheduled for October 6, with counting of votes set for October 9. The contest has also unfolded amid a dispute between rival Trinamool factions over the party's name and election symbol.
