Congress leader's arrest sparks criticism from within Trinamool Congress

Kolkata, March 4 (IANS) Arrest of senior counsel of Calcutta High Court and Congress leader Koustav Bagchi from his residence on Saturday morning for allegedly making derogatory comments about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sparked criticism from within the ruling Trinamool Congress.

In a social media post, State general secretary and spokesman of the ruling party Kunal Ghosh strongly criticised the manner in which Bagchi was arrested. He said that this development will ultimately give Congress and its allies a political mileage.

"This is my personal opinion. Koustav has made a mistake by uttering derogatory comments about our motherly chief minister. But the party's youth and students' wings could have countered that politically. But the arrest was not the right way. This will give political mileage to Koustav and the opposition forces will get a chance to use it as a political tool. He will become the face of the campaign by a section of the media. He will also attract sympathy from a section of the people. The opposition will politically exploit this arrest," Ghosh said in a social media post just hours after Bagchi's arrest at around 8 a.m.

Ghosh also claimed that he also condemned the police action at the residence of BJP councillor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Sajal Ghosh before the 2022 KMC polls. "At that point of time, police entered Sajal's residence by breaking the entrance door open. I condemned the police action then. Ultimately, I was proved right and Sajal Ghosh elected from the ward he contested from. The manner of police action on that day was not proper," he said.

"Similarly, now I am condemning Koustav's arrest. This will just give him political mileage. The fallout of the Sajal Ghosh- related incident should have been an eye- opener," Ghosh added.