Thursday, January 19 2006 17:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Barasat (WB): Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, against whom there is non-bailable arrest warrant, today (Jan 19, 2006) dared the Buddhadev Bhattacharjee Left Front government to arrest her.

Addressing a party rally here where on February 22, 1994 two persons died in a violent clash between police and Youth Congress workers led by Banerjee for which the arrest warrant has been issued.

She said "If this government has the guts, let anybody come to me and show me the arrest warrant. I can assure him that none at this public meeting will resist serving a warrant on me". "Arrest me. But will this government have the courage to do so?" she asked at the rally at Kachari Maidan in this sub-divisional town in North 24-parganas district.

More than 200 people were chargesheeted in a case filed by the police for the 1994 incident, most of who have received bail.

But Mamata Banerjee and few others failed to appear before the court leading to issue of non-bailable arrest warrants against them.

Mamata claimed that she had no information that an arrest warrant had been issued against her. "I came to know from newspaper reports that fifty charges, including a murder charge, have been framed against me but I have no knowledge about them".

"Why should they arrest us? We have not committed any crime. We are not thieves and killers", she said.

She said, "Our rally in this town in 1994 was for identity cards for voters and jobs for the unemployed".

Charging the CPI(M) of seeking to gag her voice, the Trinamool leader pledged to continue to fight relentlessly for the people.

"They (CPI-M) tried to murder me in 1990. but no case was registered officially", she claimed.