Mamata Clashes with Police, Storms Out of ECI Meeting

New Delhi: The visit to New Delhi by West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamul Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee took an extraordinary turn on Monday after she had a confrontation with Delhi Police over their presence at the Banga Bhawans, the state’s guest houses in the national capital.

Banerjee accused the police of harassing families affected by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, whom she had brought from West Bengal to meet the Election Commission of India. The Delhi Police, however, said the deployment was part of the Chief Minister’s security as per protocol.

The Chief Minister, who arrived in Delhi on Sunday, reached the West Bengal government’s guest house on Monday ahead of her scheduled meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on the ongoing SIR in the State. Objecting to what she described as heavy police deployment, Banerjee alleged that the Union government was using the Delhi Police to intimidate SIR-affected families accompanying her. The confrontation took place after security personnel were deployed around both Banga Bhawans at Hailey Road and Chanakyapuri.

Flanked by her nephew and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, the Chief Minister alleged that police personnel were entering rooms at the guest houses to identify those who had come from West Bengal. She claimed that people accompanying her were being intimidated and that the police were restricting her movements and spying on her. Banerjee said she was in Delhi to seek justice for families affected by the SIR and not to stage an agitation.

The Delhi Police rejected the allegations, stating that no personnel entered the Banga Bhawans and that security deployment outside the premises was routine. Special Commissioner of Police (Perception Management and Media Cell) Devesh Chandra Srivastava said the West Bengal Police had informed Delhi Police in advance about the visit and appropriate arrangements were made, especially as Parliament is in session and enhanced security measures are already in place.

Addressing the media outside Banga Bhawan, Banerjee alleged that people from West Bengal staying there were being “threatened” and questioned by the police. She said she did not blame the police personnel, but “those at the top”.

She alleged that SIR-affected families were being targeted, questioned the absence of similar policing during security incidents in Delhi, and accused the Centre of committing atrocities in the name of SIR. She also remarked that the authorities “get nervous” when she visits Delhi and claimed that the city had become “like a zamindari” with no place for the poor.

Meanwhile, TMC MPs protested in the Lok Sabha over the police deployment outside the Banga Bhawans, storming the Well of the House and raising slogans against the government. Samajwadi Party members joined the protest in solidarity. In the Rajya Sabha, TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh attempted to raise the issue but was not allowed by the Chair.

Later, Ms Banerjee led a delegation to the Chief Election Commissioner’s office at Nirvachan Sadan, where another confrontation reportedly took place. Sources said Abhishek Banerjee first raised concerns, followed by the Chief Minister, alleging wrongful deletion of names from electoral rolls, opposing the appointment of micro-observers, and questioning the timing of the SIR close to Assembly elections. They also argued that the time allotted for the exercise was inadequate.

Sources claimed that when the CEC attempted to explain that conducting SIR before elections is a statutory requirement, Banerjee repeatedly interrupted. It was alleged that the CEC told her he had heard her patiently and expected the same courtesy in return. According to sources, the Chief Minister thumped the table and left the meeting.

It was learnt that the CEC told the TMC delegation that the rule of law would prevail and that anyone taking the law into their own hands would be dealt with strictly in accordance with the powers vested in the Commission.