Days after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) sought to distance itself from its Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal after he was arrested by the CBI in a cattle-smuggling case, the West Bengal Chief Minister and party supremo, Mamata Banerjee, has made it clear now that the party will stand by Mondal, who has been remanded in the CBI custody till August 20. Close on the heels of Mondal's arrest on August 11, minister and TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya had told a press conference that “Party has zero tolerance on corruption. The accused should prove their innocence before the law.” This was in line with the stance the TMC took a fortnight earlier when party heavyweight Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over his alleged involvement in the school teacher recruitment scam. The ED also arrested Chatterjee's associate Arpita Mukherjee and recovered over Rs 50 crore from her flats in Kolkata. Swinging into action, Mamata had then sacked Chatterjee from her cabinet and suspended him from the TMC, even as her nephew and second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee had distanced the party from the huge piles of seized cash. However, rising in defence of Mondal, Mamata on Sunday launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led Centre, asserting that she will stand by the Birbhum party strongman and announced to “start a movement” against alleged excesses of the central agencies like the ED and the CBI. “What has Keshto (Mondal) done? What evidence you have against him? I asked him to go to Rajya Sabha, but he declined saying he would love to work for the party organisation. Why has he been arrested? The central agency went on a rampage at Keshto’s house,’’ Mamata said while addressing a rally on the eve of the Independence Day in South Kolkata’s Behala. "How many people will be arrested? I will hold a Jail Bharo movement with everyone. Come down to the streets. If tomorrow they go to my house, what will you do? Will you take to the streets?" she asked party workers. A TMC section played down the buzz in political circles that Mamata's bid to back Mondal betrayed a “disconnect between the party's old guard and its youth leadership”. A senior TMC leader said, “Abhishek is a young leader. Didi (Mamata) is a veteran politician. She can clearly see that after the arrest of Anubrata Mondal, many people in the party are getting anxious, especially after the party sought to leave him to fight his own battle with a central agency. Didi understands that such a feeling among party rank and file is dangerous. Instead, counter-attack may be the best way to defend yourself in such cases. So Mamata stood by Anubrata and asked the party to gear up to face such battles.” He said in her speech Mamata also attacked the BJP's Leader of the Opposition Shubhendu Adhikari by questioning his integrity and “indicating that he has also been under the corruption cloud notwithstanding his regular bids to write letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging corruption”. In sharp contrast to her move to support Mondal, Mamata did not only distance herself from Chatterjee but also jettisoned him from her ministry and the party. Explaining the reasons, the TMC leader said, “The two cases could not be put in the same category. In Partha's teacher recruitment scam case, there is also the involvement of Arpita from whose flats crores of cash were shown to have been recovered. On the other hand, Mondal faces a cattle-smuggling case, with the CBI not having made any breakthrough even after getting his custody last week.” TMC leaders admit that Chatterjee's arrest and the seizure of massive cash “tarnished” the party's image. Referring to Mondal's arrest, they said it has dealt a blow to the party organisation. They point out that Mondal is not just a close Mamata aide and the Birbhum strongman but also holds sway over neighbouring districts including Nadia, Murshidabad and West Burdwan. “In these districts, our electoral machinery is dependent on Anubrata. We have to control this damage as soon as possible now and come up with our leaders who could be effective alternative to Anubrata. Otherwise, the party may face a tough time in the coming Panchayat and Lok Sabha polls,” said a TMC leader. Having been on the defensive lately as it faces rising heat over corruption, the TMC's leaders and activists have now hit the streets demanding “impartial” probes by central agencies against party leaders. Seeking Suvendhu's arrest in the Saradha chit fund scam, they have also raised a threatening pitch against the Opposition leaders. Hitting back, the state BJP president, Sukanta Majumdar, said, "Mamata Banerjee is now afraid. That is why she is asking whether her supporters will come out if she is arrested." BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said, “The TMC chairperson cannot see how much her leaders have stolen but claims that she can see how much Suvendu Adhikari stole? The administration, all through, helped in cattle-smuggling. Now they are protesting against ED and CBI. People also saw huge amounts of money recovered from Arpita Mukherjee’s flats. They will give them a befitting reply. That is why their frustration is coming out.” Both CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim and party leader Sujan Chakraborty alleged that the “TMC is a party of thieves”.
