Sarkar said he had contacted officials of the Election Commission of India but was told that they had no information about Pradhan’s whereabouts. “How is it possible for the police to arrest a candidate during the election when the entire administrative and police machinery function under the ECI and report to it?” he asked before leaving for Nandigram.
Pradhan was a prominent figure in the resistance to land acquisition in Nandigram in 2007. The movement, triggered by the proposed acquisition of land for a chemical hub, became one of the defining political flashpoints of the Left Front’s final years in power and was followed by the Left’s defeat in the 2011 Assembly election.
Pradhan, who was the convener of the Bhoomi Uchchhed Pratirodh Committee, worked closely with Adhikari during the agitation, the latter then being a close lieutenant of Mamata Banerjee.
As many as 63 people were accused in connection with different acts of violence during the 2007 agitation, according to records cited by the Congress candidate’s camp. Pradhan was among those accused.
Reports from Nandigram at the time described how Pradhan was forced to flee his home in Sonachura after it was attacked by alleged pro-government elements. His house was ransacked and partially set on fire, his parents were driven out and Pradhan himself had to seek shelter at a relief camp in Nandigram.
On Saturday, Congress general-secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal told media in Thiruvananthapuram that the Congress would not withdraw Pradhan from the contest and would turn his arrest into a national issue.
Venugopal further alleged that Congress leaders had been told at the police station that Pradhan was being held temporarily and claimed that pressure was being exerted on him to withdraw in return for dropping cases against him. He said he had spoken to Pradhan and his relatives and claimed that the candidate had made clear that he would not withdraw.
“We will turn Nandigram into a national issue. Make no mistake about it,” Venugopal said, alleging that the Election Commission had remained silent over the developments. Venugopal also accused the BJP of trying to suppress Opposition voices in West Bengal and described the developments as “the darkest chapter in Indian democracy”.
With PTI inputs
