In a major development, police have decided to withdraw additional security provided to outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. Sources confirmed that orders have been issued to remove all extra deployments by 6.30 am on Wednesday (May 6). Both leaders currently receive Z+ category security, but the special security arrangements beyond that level will now be rolled back, sources added.
Key security arrangements removed
According to officials, the decision was taken during a review meeting held earlier on Tuesday. The withdrawal will specifically impact the following locations:
- The barricades placed on Harish Chatterjee Street leading to Mamata Banerjee's residence.
- The security ring around Abhishek Banerjee's residence in the Kalighat area.
- The additional deployment outside the Camac Street office.
What is Z+ security
Officials stated that only the extra layers beyond the Z+ protection will be removed, while their core security cover remains intact. Notably, Z+ security is the highest level of personal protection in India (excluding the SPG), provided to individuals facing high-level, credible threats. It consists of a 55-person team, including over 10 elite NSG commandos, local police, and CRPF personnel, ensuring 24/7 protection at home, during travel, and at public events.
Mamata Banerjee refuses to resign
It is worth noting here that TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday refused to resign as Chief Minister, alleging that the West Bengal assembly poll verdict was "not a people's mandate but a conspiracy". A day after the BJP sealed a landslide victory with 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress's uninterrupted 15-year rule, Banerjee dismissed the outcome as "engineered" and asserted that her party was fighting the Election Commission, not the BJP. The TMC could only manage 80 seats.
"Why should I step down? We have not lost. The mandate has been looted. Where does the question of resignation arise?" she said, doubling down on her refusal to vacate the office. The question of my resignation does not arise, as we were defeated not by a public mandate but by a conspiracy…I did not lose, I will not go to Lok Bhavan," she said at a press conference.
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