Hours after Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders were detained for holding a rally outside the Election Commission, party leader and MP Derek O’Brien said they will continue to police Mandir Marg Bureau protested.

The TMC’s 10-member delegation announced the dharna after meeting all members of the poll panel, asking the heads of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Income Tax (IT) department changes occur.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party has been claiming that central investigative agencies have been targeting opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.

#watch | Delhi: On being detained by Delhi Police for protesting outside the Election Commission of India, TMC MP Derek O’Brien said: “We are here to fight. We will continue to protest peacefully… …This is 100% dictatorship but we are from TMC and we will fight against it…” pic.twitter.com/P27DJZgjEp

— ANI (@ANI) April 8, 2024

“Our 24-hour dharma will be held at Continue inside or outside the police station. We will continue.” Ashoka Road, central Delhi. .

Apart from Derek O’Brien, TMC MPs Mohammad Nadimul Haque, Dora Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose, MLA Vivek Gupta, former MP Arpita Ghosh, Santanu Sen and Abir Ranjan Biswas were detained, along with West Bengal vice-president Sudeep Raha of the party’s student wing. “We were supposed to be protesting outside the European Commission. But now we are here (at the police station),” Derek O’Brien said.

Regarding their detention, a senior police officer said the action was taken as section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code prohibits large gatherings and was implemented in the area around the EC office and no protest permit was obtained.

Derek O’Brien claimed that after they were detained, they were driven around the city and then taken to a police station.

“They drove us around Delhi for about an hour and a half… After we protested, they took us to the Mandir Marg police station,” he said.

The TMC, in a letter to the EC, claimed that BJP leader Jitendra Tiwari met NIA Inspector General of Police DR Singh on March 26, allegedly carrying a “package” and after a meeting that lasted about an hour Left the apartment empty-handed.

“This series of incidents fully proves the existence of nefarious nexus and agreement between the BJP and the NIA to harass AITC staff to ensure that they are unable to discharge their campaign duties,” the TMC said in its letter to the EC.

The party alleged that in this meeting, the BJP leaders submitted a list of TMC leaders and workers to be targeted.

“This is complete murder of democracy. Our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee along with my fellow MPs and ministers have requested a meeting with the West Bengal Governor tonight,” Derek Obu Ryan said.

“We are here to fight. So we will continue our peaceful dharma. This is the situation,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)