A TMC delegation met the Election Commission (EC) on Friday and demanded a high-level probe into an alleged attack on Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, while claiming that it was not an "unfortunate incident", but a “deep-rooted conspiracy”.

The six-member delegation of the Trinamul Congress (TMC) met the full EC team, including Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora, for over an hour and submitted a memorandum to it, highlighting how BJP leaders in Bengal had threatened the chief minister through tweets and other remarks.

"Injuries to Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram were not a result of an unfortunate incident but that of a conspiracy. The events leading up to the attempt on her life leave no doubt that the attack was part of a deep-rooted conspiracy," TMC MP Saugata Roy told reporters after meeting the EC.

The delegation comprised Derek O’Brien, Saugata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Satabdi Roy, Pratima and Santanu Sen.

In the memorandum, the TMC has made allegations against Suvendu Adhikari, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Nandigram in the upcoming state Assembly polls.

"When an attempt was made on the life of Ms Banerjee, in which she was grievously hurt, to cover up the attack, eye-witnesses were planted, illustratively, eye-witnesses Chittaranjan Das and Debabrata Das, who testified that Ms Banerjee's car was hit against an iron pillar, are associates of Suvendu Adhikari, BJP candidate from Nandigram," the memorandum says.

The TMC boss had suffered injuries on her left leg and waist as she fell on the ground after being allegedly pushed by unknown people while campaigning for the assembly elections in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district.

She is undergoing treatment at the 12.5 special cabin of Woodburn Block at SSKM Hospital.

In the memorandum, the members said the “events or actions leading up to the attempt on her life leave no doubt that the attack was premeditated and part of a deep-rooted conspiracy,” The Indian Express reported.

Explaining about the chain of events, the leaders wrote that on March 8, 2021, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh had posted a caricature on his Facebook page where it was shown that Mamata Banerjee would be “hit” when she visits Nandigram. “Around the same time, numerous complaints were filed by the BJP with the Election Commission of India seeking immediate removal of the erstwhile Director General and IGP of West Bengal and almost immediately and unilaterally, on March 9, 2021, in an abrupt decision, without consultation with the state Government, the ECl removed the erstwhile DGP,” the memorandum added.

Reiterating their conspiracy jibe, the TMC leaders said that BJP MP Saumitra Khan, on March 9, had written to Babul Supriyo on twitter that “you will come to know tomorrow after 5pm”.

“It clearly indicates that something grave was planned and was in the offing beyond at Nandigram on March 10, 2021,” the leaders wrote.

Slamming the police for being equally responsible for the attack on Mamata Banerjee, the leaders said, “The SP and local police were suspiciously absent when an attempt was made on the life of Ms Banerjee, in which she was grievously hurt.”

Responding to the eye-witnesses who have claimed that no such “attack” took place and the Chief Minister was hurt when the door of her car hit against a pole, the leaders wrote, “To cover up the attack, eye-witnesses were planted. Chittaranjan Das and Debabrata Das, who testified that Mamata Banerjee’s car hit an iron pillar are associates of Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP candidate from Nandigram.”

Saying that the chain of event clearly shows a “nexus between the post by Dilip Ghosh on Facebook, the unilateral decision of the ECI to remove the erstwhile DGP, the plan revealed by Saumitra Khan on Twitter, resultant attempt on the life of Mamata Banerjee and the cover up of the same by Adhikari”, the TMC leaders demanded a thorough and unbiased investigation into the matter.