Cong Nandigram bypoll candidate's wife alleges Suvendu 'misused power' to jail husband

KOLKATA: Arpita Pradhan, wife of incarcerated Congress's Nandigram bypoll candidate Milan Pradhan, alleged on Thursday that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari “misused power” to throw her husband in jail, while asserting that the leader was implicated in “false cases”.

Addressing a press conference at Bidhan Bhavan, the West Bengal Pradesh Congress headquarters in Kolkata, Arpita thanked both Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee alike “for lending their support” to the jailed candidate and urged all opposition parties to join hands to fight the ruling BJP in the October 6 bypoll.

Arpita announced that she, along with her daughter, would hit the roads of Nandigram to campaign for Milan Pradhan in the wake of the imprisoned leader missing out on the opportunity to canvass for himself.

Pradhan was arrested and subsequently remanded in judicial custody till October 5 – the day before polling in Nandigram – in connection with multiple 19-year-old cases, including a murder case, related to the 2007 anti-land acquisition agitation in Nandigram.

The arrest was made shortly after former chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced her TMC faction’s support for Pradhan in the bypoll, following the withdrawal of its own candidate.

“Why was my husband sent to jail just before this election in such an old case? Suvendu Adhikari was also an accused in the same case, so why is he out? This has happened because we are from the opposition," Arpita said.

"He was slapped with false cases since he was fighting for his country and because he stood by his people. He has a family, and our daughter is unable to attend school in the current situation,” she said, breaking down.

She also alleged that "the real offender" is roaming free because he is the chief minister.

"Are we living in a free country? It seems to me that we are living under British rule. I urge the people of Nandigram to stand by me. CM Suvendu Adhikari is misusing his power. This must stop,” Arpita added.

Arpita, flanked by state Congress president Subhankar Sarkar and the party’s state observer Prakash Joshi, claimed that her husband remained steadfast in his commitment to the Congress despite tempting offers from other parties.

"Milan Pradhan has been involved in Congress politics since his student days. Many of his colleagues switched from one party to another after taking money. But he has remained steadfast in his political beliefs," she said.

He was slapped with false cases since he was fighting for his country and because he stood by his people, Arpita claimed.

"Whenever Milan goes to Nandigram, people of all ages, from children to the elderly, surround him. It is such a person who has been jailed just before the election,” she said.

“Because my husband is in jail and cannot take part in the campaigns, my daughter and I have decided to hit the roads on his behalf from September 25. We will start from the Nandigram market,” Arpita said.

Sarkar said everyone who supports the Congress nominee is welcome.