Supporters rush to defend Firhad and Madan but party chants restraint mantra

Club officials of Chetla Agrani in Kolkata acted as traffic volunteers to disperse a crowd of Trinamool supporters protesting against the CBI raid at Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim’s house. This was in contrast to a previous raid in May 2021 when loyalists prevented Hakim from being taken away. The party took a different approach this time to avoid validating Hakim’s “influential” status. Hakim expressed frustration at the harassment of his family during the nine-and-a-half-hour-long interrogation. Similar restraint was shown by supporters of Madan Mitra during his questioning.