TMC slams NHRC chairperson's 'nonchalant approach' on Prayagraj case, NHRC denies allegation

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Saket Gokhale, National Spokesperson of TMC, who was one of the members of this fact-finding committee said, "Our meeting with the chairman of NHRC (Justice Arun Kumar Mishra) was very unfortunate. Despite knowing the fact that the only purpose behind this meeting was the deteriorating condition of law and order in UP and specifically the case of Prayagraj, as soon as we entered, the honorable chairperson said that 'You're from West Bengal which is a hotbed of violence."

New Delhi: A three-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) fact-finding committee comprising Dola Sen, Lalitesh Tripathi, and Saket Gokhale met National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday over the Prayagraj case, where five members of a family were found dead inside their house.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Saket Gokhale, National Spokesperson of TMC, who was one of the members of this fact-finding committee said, "Our meeting with the chairman of NHRC (Justice Arun Kumar Mishra) was very unfortunate. Despite knowing the fact that the only purpose behind this meeting was the deteriorating condition of law and order in UP and specifically the case of Prayagraj, as soon as we entered, the honorable chairperson said that 'You're from West Bengal which is a hotbed of violence."

“The Chairperson also mentioned that a few other states where there are occurrences of violence including Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, then I pointed out that ironically all these states are non-BJP ruled states. The chairperson then threatened to call the Chief Secretary of West Bengal and also mentioned that he has the power to take action. It was shocking to see such a response from an independent constitutional body," added Gokhale.

Asked whether the TMC delegation view NHRC as being too selective in bringing up the cases, Gokhale said, "at the end of the discussion one of the members of NHRC and the chairman brings out press briefings of the Prayagraj case over the last eight days and gave us a single statement that why one of your party members is saying that NHRC is not taking up this issue."

"Now it's all up to the NHRC. They've told us that they may or may not take cognizance of the case. They had all the details of this case and still, they did not take suo moto action and that in itself is a kind of a statement that says it all," added Gokhale.

However, NHRC officials refused to comment on the allegations but called these accusations a political gimmick.