Sheikh Shahjahan Arrest: TMC Says Party Follows 'Rajdharma', BJP Claims Action Result Of Agitation

TMC said that Sheikh Shahjahan's arrest shows that the party follows 'rajdharma' while the BJP claimed that his arrest came due to the continuous agitation by his party.

Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party raced to bag the credit for the arrest of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan by the Bengal police in connection with the Sandeshkhali violence on Thursday morning. While the TMC said it followed 'rajdharma', the saffron party claimed that the action was the result of agitation by its party. 

Sheikh was arrested by the West Bengal police from the Minakhan area in North 24 Parganas in the early morning on Thursday. A series of protests erupted in Sandeshkhali earlier this month against the allegations of land grab and sexual harassment by the 42-year-old TMC leader. 

Following his arrest, TMC MP Santanu Sen said that Sheikh's arrest proves that his party's government follows 'rajdharma'. 

"His arrest proves that our government follows 'rajdharma' in an administrative manner. We had taken action against Partha Chatterjee and Jyotipriya Mallick, and similarly, we have taken action against Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar and now Sheikh Shahjahan has been arrested," Sen said while speaking to news agency ANI. 

"Abhishek Banerjee had said that the Police were unable to arrest him due to the court's stay order. He has been arrested within 3-4 days of the removal of the stay order," he added.

"On one side, accused leaders openly move in BJP-ruled states and on the other side our administration doesn't spare accused TMC leaders if there is evidence against them. BJP should learn 'rajdharma' from the TMC," Sen said. 

Meanwhile, the BJP claimed that the action by the West Bengal Police came after the party started agitation in Sandeskhali. State BJP President Sukanta Majumdar said that the TMC government was "compelled" to arrest Sheikh due to the continuous agitation by his party. 

"Due to the continuous agitation by the BJP, this government was compelled to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan. The government was in denial mode. They were not even accepting that anything as such had happened, "Majumdar said.

"I had already said that we would compel the government to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan. Today, due to the agitation of the BJP and the women of Sandeshkhali, the government and Mamata Banerjee are compelled to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan," he added. 

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said that the entire episode is a lesson for everyone.

"I told you there will be light at the end of the tunnel. That is democracy. We waited but it has been done," Bose said while speaking to reporters on Thursday. 

"This is a lesson for everyone. Now, let's hope a new dawn of lawfulness will come back to Bengal...I am glad that good things are happening," he added.