Around 30 members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), including MPs Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, and Mahua Moitra, were taken into custody by the Delhi Police on Tuesday. Their detention followed a protest within Krishi Bhawan, initiated after their demand for a meeting with Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti was denied. The detained TMC leaders were taken to Utsav Sadan in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar and were released before midnight.

Mahua Moitra shared a video clip on X (formerly Twitter), revealing security personnel forcibly escorting her out of Krishi Bhawan. The footage captured Delhi Police officers lifting and dragging Moitra away from the protest site, while the person recording could be heard questioning their actions saying, “Kya kar rahe hain? Woh ek MP hain” (What are you doing? She is an MP).

Moitra alleged that party leaders, including female MPs, were being detained without proper paperwork. She stated, “We were scheduled to meet Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti at 6 PM today, we waited for 90 minutes, after which we were informed that she will not be able to meet us. Sadhvi Niranjan met Suvendu Adhikari today at 4 PM but we were made to wait here. If she doesn’t want to meet us, then it’s okay, but we will not go anywhere from here, we will remain sitting here.”

The Trinamool Congress has been staging protests in the national capital, alleging that the Central government is withholding Rs 15,000 crore in dues to the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and PM Awas Yojana.

In response, the BJP has dismissed these claims, accusing the TMC of doing a “drama” in Delhi to divert attention from the alleged scams in West Bengal.

The TMC delegation on Tuesday protested at Jantar Mantar and subsequently marched to the Rural Development Ministry at Krishi Bhawan, where they had a scheduled appointment with Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.

According to the TMC, the Union Minister declined to meet them after a wait of one and a half hours. Mahua Moitra expressed her disappointment, stating, “This is how elected MPs of the world’s largest democracy are treated after being given an appointment to meet with a Minister of the Government of India (which she refused to honour after making us wait 3 hours). Shame @narendramodi, shame @AmitShah.”

As the TMC leaders were being transported away by bus, Moitra claimed that the delegation had been manhandled and physically removed. A video circulated by TMC MP Saket Gokhale on X depicted Delhi Police personnel forcefully escorting the TMC lawmakers out of Krishi Bhawan premises.

Gokhale highlighted the incident, writing on X, “TMC MPs and Bengal Govt Ministers led by @abhishekaitc have just now been manhandled and mercilessly dragged from the Ministry of Rural Development by Delhi Police and DETAINED. This also includes 4 poor MNREGA workers from Bengal who had come to place their grievance before the Minister.”

Reportedly, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari met MoS Jyoti at 4 PM before the TMC delegation arrived and handed over a letter to the minister regarding alleged irregularities in the MGNREGA scheme in West Bengal. The TMC’s general secretary raised objections to the meeting, pointing out the minister’s willingness to meet the BJP leader while cancelling the planned meeting with their party delegation.