Thiruvananthapuram, 19 September

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Saturday said the Congress would not withdraw its candidate Milan Pradhan from the Nandigram Assembly bypoll in West Bengal and would raise his arrest as a national issue.

Pradhan was arrested on Friday in connection with an old case related to the 2007 Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement, a senior Congress leader claimed.

Pradhan, who has been named in more than 12 cases linked to the Nandigram land movement, was picked up from a hotel in Chandipur in Purba Medinipur district, party sources said.

Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced her party's support for Pradhan in the Nandigram bypoll on Friday, hours after her faction's candidate withdrew from the contest.

Speaking to reporters here, Venugopal alleged that Pradhan was arrested in connection with an old case shortly after the Trinamool Congress extended its support to him for the bypoll.

"Within an hour of Mamata Banerjee extending support to the Congress candidate, the police took that candidate into custody," he said, adding that the case was related to the 2007 Nandigram agitation.

Venugopal alleged that when Congress leaders went to the police station to inquire about the arrest, they were told that there was no real case and that Pradhan was being held temporarily.

He alleged that the police were pressuring Pradhan to withdraw from the contest by offering to drop cases against him and provide other facilities.

"Is this the democracy functioning in this country?" Venugopal asked.

He alleged that the BJP was trying to eliminate Opposition voices in West Bengal and said the Congress, and not the CPI(M), was fighting the BJP.

"We will turn Nandigram into a national issue. Make no mistake about it," he said.

Venugopal alleged that the Election Commission had remained silent despite the developments and questioned how a candidate could be prevented from functioning after filing his nomination.

"If there was a genuine case, it would be understandable. But bringing up a 15-year-old case now and saying, 'We will drop all cases if you withdraw'?" he said.

Venugopal said he had spoken to Pradhan and his relatives and claimed that the candidate had made it clear that he would not withdraw from the contest.

"The candidate explicitly told us, 'Even if you kill me, I will not withdraw.' I feel proud of that candidate," Venugopal said.

He said Pradhan would contest the bypoll and Congress leaders and workers would campaign for him.

"We will make Nandigram a national issue because this is the darkest chapter in Indian democracy," he said.

Venugopal alleged that the BJP was turning Bengal into a "banana republic" and accused the Election Commission of acting as an "agent of Prime Minister Modi".

"No Congress worker will rest until we put an end to the BJP's fascism in this country," he said.