Kolkata/New Delhi,
Dec 2 Triggering uproar and disruptions in
parliament, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stretched till Friday
evening her overnight vigil at the state secretariat protesting against army
deployment in the state's toll plazas allegedly without any intimation to her
government.
Banerjee left the secretariat "Nabanna" in neighbouring Howrah after
staying put for 36 hours as the issue snowballed into a major row that saw
Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar and the Indian Army's Eastern Command
rubbishing her claims. Meanwhile, state Ministers staged a sit-in at the Raj
Bhavan in Kolkata, and other Trinamool Congress leaders and activists hit the
streets across the decrying the "attack on the country's federal
structure".
The party also sent videos of the army deployment at toll plazas to President
Pranab Mukherjee.
Before leaving the secretariat, Banerjee threatened to explore "legal
options" if the army was not withdrawn, and dubbed the Centre as
"arrogant".
She said she had great respect for the army, but was "sad" in the
manner in which they were being used for "political vendetta".
Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, claimed that the army
informed the police about their exercise only for one spot -- the toll plaza of
Vidyasagar Setu near Nabanna.
"Police did not permit them to conduct such exercise. They did not give
any intimation for other places where they undertook their exercise," she
said.
In the Lok Sabha, Parrikar said the army was conducting a routine exercise and
the state government and the police knew about it in advance. He accused
Banerjee of politicising the matter.
In Kolkata, the Eastern Command showed papers detailing the correspondence
between the army and the local police on the issue.
"We deny all charges with all contempt," said General Officer
Commanding (officiating) Maj. Gen. Sunil Yadav.
The army also termed as "baseless" Banerjee's charge that army
personnel were collecting money from vehicles.
The issue, coupled with the demonetisation fracas, deadlocked Parliament
functioning.
In the Rajya Sabha, the matter was raised by Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi
Azad during Zero Hour, who sought a clarification from the government and a
statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy called it an attempt by the
Centre to instill fear in the state, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati called
the move an attack on the federal structure of the nation.
"Modi teri Hitlershahi, nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi (Modi, you can't govern
like Hitler)," the opposition shouted and trooped near the Chairman's
podium.
Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the upper house till 2.30 p.m. amid the
pandemonium. But as soon as it met again at 2.30 p.m., the opposition members,
mainly of the Congress, resumed sloganeering and the house was adjourned for
the day.
In the Lok Sabha, Trinamool's Sudip Bandopadhyay raised the issue. The House
saw much din, and finally Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the house for the
day.
Outside parliament, Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi backed Banerjee.
"Things should happen within the knowledge of the state government.
Mamataji is doing the right thing by voicing her concern," said UP's
Akhilesh Yadav at a programme, while Delhi's Arvind Kejriwal said the state was
targeted by the central government as Banerjee dared to slam demonetisation.
But in her own state, Banerjee drew flak from the opposition Congress, Left
Front and the BJP for trying to use the army to score political brownie points.
The BJP even demanded her resignation.
The drama unfolded on Thursday evening when Banerjee alleged that the army has
been deployed at the Dankuni and Palsit toll plazas on National Highway 2
(connecting Delhi and Kolkata) without informing her government and demanded to
know whether a military coup has taken place,
"The motive is political, vindictive, unconstitutional, unethical and
undemocratic," she said, demanding the withdrawal of the army from the
second Hooghly Bridge toll plaza, about 500 metres away. "I'll keep vigil
to protect the democracy, to protect my democratically-elected
government."
Shortly after midnight, the Eastern Command said troops had been asked to
withdraw from the toll plaza near Nabanna as the required data had already been
collected.
Past 2 a.m., Banerjee -- holding her third media conference since evening --
stuck to her decision to spend the night there, arguing that the army may
return.
