Congress' Koustav Bagchi, arrested for remark on Mamata Banerjee, gets bail; Opposition united in slamming CM

Koustav was released on bail on Saturday evening.

Police officials reached Koustav's residence at around 2:30 am and he was arrested in the morning.

He was taken to the Burtolla Police Station in north Kolkata.

Koustav was arrested on the charges of criminal conspiracy, sexual harassment, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, act induces or is likely to induce any person to commit offence against state or against public tranquility, word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman, punishment for criminal intimidation and wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, reports said.

Walking out the court after getting bail, Koustav said, "I am shaving my head. I won't grow hairs on my head until I dethrone Mamata Banerjee."

Slamming Koustav, West Bengal Minister and Trinamool Congress MLA Shashi Panja said, "Mamata Banerjee is like our mother. As a woman, we felt insulted. Can this discussion be the political narrative and discourse?"

In reply to Banerjee's personal attack on state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhry, Koustav on Friday held a press conference and spoke on a book based on the Chief Minister's personal life.

Banerjee on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Chowdhury referring to his late daughter and driver in her response to the Trinamool Congress' debacle in the Sagardighi assembly by-election.

When she was asked about Chowdhury's claim that the minority votes are moving away from the Trinamool, Banerjee said, "I won't answer. Let the minority people answer that. Why was Bogtui an issue in the Sagardighi bypoll?"

"He (Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury) is saying so many things but can he answer on his daughter's suicide, driver's murder? I know a lot of things. Don't trigger me to speak out," the Chief Minister said.

In reply, Chowdhury told a local news channel, "The Chief Minister has every right to talk about it. But will she have the patience to listen to my answers?"

CPI-M, BJP join Congress in condemning Koustav's arrest

Not just the Congress, CPIM, which fought the Sagardighi bypoll in an alliance with the grand old party, has lashed out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the police action on Koustav.

"The way Koustav Bagchi was arrested is totally unlawful. This action is a symptom of the government's insanity. Koustav has done nothing but just read from a published book," said CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty.

In the same line, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Locket Chatterjee said, "Bengal has no democracy. Anyone, who will protest, will be unlawfully arrested. The government is trying to suppress the truth to prevent the government from falling into any kind of crisis."