Kolkata:
Apparently differing from the party stand, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee today said Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee would not be arrested or harassed before the Assembly election in connection with a 17-year-old case, a day after a CPI-M delegation met the Election Commission (EC) asking for execution of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) in this connection.
''There is no question of arresting or harassing Mamata Banerjee before the Assembly elections,'' Bhattacharjee categorically told a press conference here.
However, CPI-M leader and former party MP Amitava Nandy, who was a member of the party delegation which submitted a memorandum to the EC team on a visit to West Bengal, told PTI that this was the 'version' of the chief minister.
''I raised the legal question before the Chief Election Commissioner. It is for the Election Commission to decide on the matter,'' he said.
The CPI-M had on Tuesday asked the Election Commission to execute all non-bailable warrants, including those issued in connection with violent incidents at Barasat in 1994 in which the police had registered FIRs against Banerjee, among others.
Then DIG (PR) Rachpal Singh, was injured in the violence. Singh, now a retired IPS officer, incidentally is now a Trinamool Congress candidate from Tarakeswar seat.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, when asked about the case in a press conference, today said, ''We have asked for details.''
He said a CPI-M delegation met the EC team on Tuesday and took an hour to place its submissions about the execution of NBWs.
Trinamool leader Partha Chatterjee told reporters, ''If he has the courage, let him (Bhattacherjee) arrest her. She is in her residence. There was misuse of power and filing of false cases against her. People of West Bengal would not tolerate if there is any conspiracy against her.''