Madan, supporters glued to TV all day

KOLKATA: Since Thursday morning, around 20 youths sat glued to the TV set on the ground floor of Hindustan Club on Dhirendranath Ghosh Road. The 100 sq ft room was buzzing with discussions and speculations. But a little after 2pm, complete silence engulfed the entire clubroom. By then, the channels were flashing news of the Calcutta high court cancelling Madan Mira's bail.
"I cannot believe that Madan-da will go back to jail," shuddered Biplab Hazra, a young taxi driver and a club member. He wiped his moist eyes and explained the implications of Thursday's order. "The high court was our last hope. The cancellation of bail means Dada will have to stay in jail now," he added.
Hazra was not alone. Close to 200 Mitra loyalist camping outside his house diagonally opposite the club were devastated by the order. CBI seemed to be the common enemy of everyone here.
Ganesh Pyne, another young Madan supporter, stressed Mitra was 'innocent' and had suffered enough. "The CBI probe is motivated against Madan-da. They have interrogated him and many others but failed to prove anything against him till now," said an agitated Ganesh.
But the man himself was a picture of composure in the library of the Bar Council of the Alipore court where he had gone to surrender after a division bench cancelled his bail petition earlier in the day. "I heard the news of cancellation of my bail on TV channels. Even though I have not yet received the copy of the order, I have decided to surrender in Alipore court. I am having chest pain but still I have decided to surrender because I respect the court," said Mitra amid the loud chants of 'Madan Mitra zindabad' and 'Amader neta zindabad' while leaving his Bhowanipore home where he was under house arrest on 'health grounds'.
Unlike October 31, when there were hardly any Trinamool workers outside Mitra's home after the lower court granted him bail, hundreds of youths on Thursday flocked to his residence even before the hearing began at the high court.
"Supporters realize that it is a very crucial day for Dada. If the court cancels his bail, he will have to go back to jail and appeal in the Supreme Court," explained a Trinamool leader.
Sources close to the family said Mitra himself was glued to the TV since morning. "When the news came in, Madan-da was devastated. He told us to leave because he wanted to be alone," said another party leader.
Within half an hour of the court's order, a huge team of police arrived at Mitra's residence. A little before 4pm, Mitra emerged wearing a green Panjabi and white pyjama and sat on the front seat. His supporters breached the police cordon and flocked to his car. "Dada eta bhalo holo na. Apnake amra jete debo na (This is not done. We'll not let you go)," a middle-aged man, almost on the verge of tears, said.