Mamata Banerjee's lawmakers spend night at Assam airport after arrests
August 03, 2018 08:05
Lawmakers of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress were formally arrested at Assam's Silchar airport late Thursday evening. The lawmakers had gone to the state to campaign against the draft citizens' list, which triggered a political storm, when they were stopped by the police.
In dramatic footage from the airport, women in the Trinamool team were seen running as they were chased and restrained by policewomen. Now the police too, have presented footage claiming one of the lawmakers had jostled and pushed a constable, injuring her.
In the video footage, lawmaker Mahua Moitra is seen pushing the woman constable, who, at one point, is seen pleading with her. They will be kept at the airport for the night, the police said.
Earlier this evening, Mamata Banerjee had told her lawmakers to stay put at the airport and not go anywhere. "There is a super emergency in Assam. They don't want us to talk to people," said the West Bengal Chief Minister.
The eight-member team of Trinamool lawmakers was to address public meetings in Silchar against the National Register of Citizens, an updated list that excludes four million people from Assam. Opposition parties have accused the BJP - which rules Assam - of using the register to target people for election reasons in the name of identifying illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
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