TMC cannot be cowed down by threats: Saugata Roy tells Modi Govt.

Accusing the Centre of indulging in political vendetta, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Saugata Roy on Thursday said that his party cannot be cowed down by the threats and actions of the BJP-led NDA regime and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Roy told ANI that the TMC workers have taken to the streets to protest against the government's demonetisation drive.

"Our protest is to show that we cannot be cowed down by the threats and the actions of the Central Government and the CBI. As far as West Bengal is concerned, there have been some spontaneous protests against the arrest of our Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. But our main movement is against demonetisation, which has harmed the common people and put them to terrible difficulty," he added.

Rubbishing the claims made by the ruling BJP that its leaders' houses have been attacked by TMC workers, Roy said, "These are concocted statements. We don't support any attack on any person or any party office. BJP is a very small force in West Bengal, having only three seats out of 294. Why should we spoil our name?"

Roy also stated that the West Bengal Government would not cooperate with the Centre anymore in rolling out the Goods and Service Tax (GST).

Meanwhile, the leaders of the BJP's West Bengal unit will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today to lodge protest against the attack on the party office in Kolkata by the TMC workers.

The TMC workers yesterday blocked the National Highway-2 near Asansol in protest against the arrest of the TMC MP besides agitating in front of the BJP office in central Kolkata.

The TMC has alleged that Bandyopadhyay's arrest is an example of 'vendetta politics' by the Centre.

The CBI earlier on January 3 arrested Bandyopadhyay in connection with the Rose Valley chit-fund scam. This came after TMC MP and actor-politician

Tapas Paul was arrested by the CBI in the same case.