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Congress leader Milan Pradhan, who is party’s candidate for the Nandigram byelection slated for October 6, on Monday was sent to judicial custody till October 5 by a court in Milan Pradhan. However, his counsel has said Pradhan will challenge the court’s order in the Calcutta High Court.
Pradhan was arrested by the police on September 18 in connection with a 2007 case. His arrest came hours after West Bengal’s former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced her support for Pradhan following the withdrawal of her Trinamool Congress (TMC) faction’s nominee.
The cases against Pradhan stem from the violent agitation against land acquisition by then Left Front government in Nandigram and Khejuri in 2007. According to the police, he had evaded arrested for years, adding the action was taken against him on the basis of the “long-pending, non-bailable warrants”.
Pradhan’s arrest stirred a massive political row in West Bengal, with Mamata saying that the development has raised serious questions and alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is murdering the democracy in India. Mamata, who was ousted from power this year, said Pradhan’s arrest was a part of BJP’s vendetta politics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpeki8BNQB0
“Minutes after we extended our support to the Congress candidate for the bypoll in Nandigram, the Congress candidate Milan Pradhan was arrested. The timing raises serious questions and is the usual BJP formula: dig out an old case. But why now? Just after we announced support to the Congress!” she said.
Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, also teared into the BJP and said Pradhan’s arrest shows the ruling party does not believe in free and fair elections. However, Rahul vowed to continue the fight against the BJP.
“That is why it seeks to cling to power through “vote theft”, “government theft” and “party theft”. They do not want to contest elections; they want to eliminate the electoral contest altogether,” he said on X.
Coming to the byelection in Nandigram, it would be held on October 6 and the counting of votes takes place on October 9. The byelection was necessitated after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari vacated the seat. Adhikari had contested from Nandigram and Bhabanipur in 2026 West Bengal elections. He won both seats, and decided to retain Bhabanipur.
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