Mamata Banerjee calls off meet with TMC MLAs after only 20 of 80 turn up

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday called off a scheduled meeting with her party's legislators after only 20 of 80 MLAs turned up, with the party blaming the mass absence on a "sudden and emergent ground situation" triggered by attacks on senior functionaries and several arrests statewide.

Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, speaking outside Mamata's residence in south Kolkata's Kalighat, insisted the absentee MLAs were "stuck managing the ground situation and assisting arrested workers" after police action against party members protesting attacks on national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and, later, his MP colleague Kalyan Banerjee.

"All our legislators have said they stand firmly with the party during these difficult times," Ghosh told reporters, adding that TMC called off the meeting "for the time being" after the absent MLAs made a "legitimate request" for postponement.

Sources said Mamata informally spoke to the 20 legislators who did attend. Ghosh announced block-level and municipal ward rallies Monday to "decry the attacks on Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee and all our workers who are victims of BJP's post-poll terror".

Mamata will lead a daylong sit-in Tuesday at the Rani Rashmoni Road protest site in central Kolkata's Esplanade against what Ghosh, MLA from Beleghata, described as "ongoing post-poll violence and inhumane hawker evictions being carried out with bulldozers".

The scrapped meeting and protest plans coincided with the arrest of three former MLAs, multiple councillors and two local strongmen on charges ranging from corruption to participation in the 2021 post-poll violence, including attempt to murder and obstruction of public servants.

Purbasthali North ex-MLA Tapan Chattopadhyay was arrested after a 7am raid on charges of alleged corruption involving relief materials. Police said they confiscated 300 tarpaulins, relief blankets and sports equipment, including footballs, volleyballs and jerseys, from his house.

Former Burdwan South MLA Khokon Das was arrested from Handi in UP in connection with an extortion case and a 2021 post-poll violence charge. Das stands accused of intimidating a masonry worker on May 12 while allegedly claiming to be a "future BJP office-bearer".

Former Chinsurah MLA Asit Mazumder was arrested alongside Hooghly-Chinsurah municipal chairman Saumitra Ghosh, vice-chairperson Partha Saha and three councillors - Samir Sarkar, Ranjan Raha and Nirmal Chakraborty - for allegedly obstructing police during a blockade to protest the attack on Abhishek.

In West Midnapore, Kotwali police arrested Midnapore municipality councillor Bishwanath Pandab, his son Prosenjit and his nephew on attempt-to-murder charges.

Police also arrested Azizul Hossain Mondal, former councillor of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, after a woman accused him and his brother of assaulting her.