I didn’t attack Pranab, Priya’s men did it: Cong worker

‘‘I was called by the Pradesh Congress Committee 45 minutes after the incident,’’ Das said at his CIT Road residence. ‘‘I got a call from the PCC office and was told that Pranab Mukherjee was being heckled. I was instructed to go to Bidhan Bhavan and get the Defence Minister out of there,’’ he told The Indian Express.

Das dismissed rumours that he was suspended by the party last night. ‘‘I have not even received as much as a phone call, let alone any letter, after the incident,’’ he said. ‘‘When I asked some of the journalists who interviewed me about the source of their reports that I had been suspended, they all said that the news had come from Delhi.’’

However, he warned that if the party did suspend him, he would file a mass petition against the suspension and fax it directly to party president Sonia Gandhi.

The fact that Deepali Das, a member of the TMC till three days ago, was given a nomination on behalf of the UDA sparked off tension in his ward, Das said. ‘‘On Saturday night, Somen Mitra called me up to tell me that my wife would not be able to become the candidate from Ward 55,’’ he said. His wife, Sabita Das, had earlier been projected as the candidate for Ward 55. ‘‘We will not withdraw from the fight. My wife will now contest the elections as an independent candidate,’’ Das said.

As far as his relationship with Pranab Mukherjee and Somen Mitra go, it is ‘‘now a thing of the past’’, he said. ‘‘After this incident, I do not think that I can maintain good relations with either of them,’’ he said. However, he added that he would do anything to help the Congress win the elections — as long as Subrata Mukherjee does not become mayor.