Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 10 : Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh on Monday alleged political vendetta following the arrest of party MLA Paresh Ram Das in an alleged rape case, claiming that the police action came after the legislator decided to move away from the BJP and work under the leadership of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Reacting to the arrest, Ghosh said he would not comment on the merits of the case, stating that it was an old matter and that the alleged incident had taken place around three years before the case was registered.
He said, "Regarding the arrest of Pareshram Das, I will not make any comment about his case because we do not know what the merit of his case is. But it is an old case. When the case was filed, that incident was perhaps three years old. The problem is not this. The problem is that Pareshram Das, for all this time, was with BJP's B-team, the so-called Trinamool."
Ghosh further alleged that no police action had been taken against the MLA when he was associated with what he described as the BJP's B-team, but the situation changed after Das decided to move towards Mamata Banerjee's leadership. 
He asserted, "As long as Pareshram Das was with those traitors, the police did not wake up. Back then, there was no case; back then, no arrest took place. But when Pareshram Das took the decision that enough is enough—that this pressure, blackmailing through cases, forcing him to keep ties with traitors—he will not remain part of it and will move forward under Mamata Didi's leadership. Ever since the day he took that decision, all this has been happening."
The TMC leader also linked the arrest to recent political developments in the state, referring to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks about opposition legislators potentially supporting the government during a floor test.  
"Now you can understand what is happening here. The Chief Minister made a statement a few days ago, didn't she? That not just BJP leaders or MLAs, but if there is a floor test, this many hands from the opposition are ready to be raised in their support. Well, Pareshram Das's hand was also among them. He withdrew that hand and moved towards Mamata Didi, and Suvendu ji's police arrested him. That is the whole story," he added.
Paresh Ram Das, TMC MLA from Canning Paschim Assembly constituency, was arrested at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Monday in connection with an alleged rape case, Baruipur Police District said in a statement.
According to the police, Pareshram Das was apprehended while allegedly attempting to evade investigation by travelling from Kolkata to Mumbai.
The case was registered at Canning Police Station on September 5 under Sections 376, 323, 420, 120B and 506 of the IPC.
The operation was carried out by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Baruipur Police District under the direct supervision of the Superintendent of Police and other senior officers, with assistance from Bidhannagar Police.