NEW DELHI: West Bengal’s political temperature spiked on Friday as chief minister Mamata Banerjee led a street protest in Kolkata against the Enforcement Directorate, as she accused the BJP-led Centre of misusing central agencies ahead of the polls.To sum up the incidents in the last two days, ED raided political consultancy firm I-PAC, accused Mamata of interrupting and disrupting raids, matter was taken to high court, Calcutta HC adjourned amid “large-scale commotion”, the Bengal CM took to streets, while the BJP accused her acting “like a mafia”.The showdown followed the detention of several Trinamool Congress MPs in Delhi over protests against an ED raid, setting the stage for a fast-moving political and legal confrontation in the state.
Mamata protests against ED; BJYM protests against Mamata
Mamata Banerjee led a Trinamool Congress (TMC) march in south Kolkata against the Enforcement Directorate’s searches linked to political consultancy firm I-PAC.Addressing a rally in Kolkata, she defended her interference during the ED raids on Thursday and accused the agency of attempting to “steal” TMC’s data.”What I did yesterday was nothing wrong; they tried to steal my party’s data,” she said.Banerjee walked from the 8B Bus Stand area towards Hazra More, flanked by senior ministers, MPs, MLAs and party workers, sloganeering crowds accused the BJP-led Centre of “misusing central agencies for political vendetta,” projecting TMC’s street strength ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. Parallel protests erupted as the BJP’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), staged counter-agitations against her. The Bengal CM also lodged two FIRs against the agency over raids at I-PAC office and the residence of its chief Prateek Jain on Thursday.The complaints, along with the TMC’s plea in the Calcutta HC against the ED, are seen as escalating the standoff between the two sides, following dramatic scenes in Kolkata where the chief minister appeared at the raid locations and was accused of taking away “key documents” and electronic devices from the premises.
What happened at Calcutta HC?
The Calcutta HC, which was scheduled to hear the cases related to ED raids witnessed “unmanageable chaos” inside the courtroom, eventually leading to adjournment of hearing.Justice Suvra Ghosh, before whom the matter was listed, postponed the hearing until January 14 and exited the courtroom after repeated appeals to those not associated with the petitions to vacate the premises went unheeded, PTI reported.In its writ petition, the TMC urged the court to intervene and prevent the ED from the “prejudice, misuse and dissemination” of data seized during the searches, while the agency approached the bench alleging obstruction of its investigation and sought a transfer of the probe into Thursday’s events to the CBI.
Political row erupts
Following the drama, a political row erupted as the BJP leaders targeted Mamata for her action during the raids and termed her party TMC regime as “Tanashahi Mamata Congress government”.”The TMC, the Tanashahi Mamata Congress government, has become synonymous with anarchic lawless jungle raj. The West Bengal Governor has now received dire death threats. Mamata Banerjee’s vandalistic misconduct, obstructing and scuttling the due process of law, smacks of an anxious attempt to cover up corruption…” ANI quoted BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan said.BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad also targeted the CM’s actions and accused her of “snatching away” documents from ED during raids.”There are a lot of suspicious circumstances surrounding the barbaric action of Mamata Benerjee,” he said.
TMC MPs protests, Delhi Police detains them
Several Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs were detained in Delhi while protesting outside the home ministry against what they alleged was the Centre’s misuse of central probe agencies. The Delhi Police forcibly evicted the parliamentarians from the area, lifting and dragging them away after they refused to disperse, citing rules that prohibit protests outside the home ministry. The MPs were taken to Parliament Street Police Station and released later in the afternoon. Holding placards and raising slogans against the ED, MPs including Derek O’Brien, Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Kirti Azad, Saket Gokhale, Bapi Haldar, Pratima Mondal and Sharmila Sarkar attempted to enter Kartavya Bhavan, which houses the home ministry. When stopped at the gate, they staged a sit-in protest before being forcibly removed by police. Videos showing MPs being pushed and carried into a police bus circulated widely on social media and were shared by the TMC.
Why is TMC opposing ED raids?
I-PAC, a political consultancy firm, has political data of TMC. West Bengal is set to go to polls this year. The party accused the probe agency of attempting to “steal” the data during raids.”It is our property where ED came in to do robbery. All our election data is in the I-PAC office. Just before the elections, they came to tamper with our information. If someone comes into your house to rob you, then you are within your rights to go and protect your property. We have every right to protect our property, else ED will take it and give it to the BJP,” TMC MP Mahua Moitra said. The Bengal CM also accused the ED of trying to confiscate the party’s internal data and election strategy during the searches.She described the raids as an act of “political vendetta” and accused the Centre of misusing central agencies to harass and intimidate opposition parties. TMC leaders have argued that I-PAC, which handles the party’s political consultancy as well as its IT and media operations, was being targeted to access sensitive internal material.
What happened during ED raids at I-PAC offices?
The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches on Thursday at the Salt Lake office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the Kolkata residence of its founder and director, Pratik Jain, as part of a money-laundering probe linked to the alleged coal scam. Searches were also conducted at other locations in West Bengal and Delhi.According to the ED, CM Mamata Banerjee entered Jain’s Loudon Street residence during the raid and later the I-PAC office, despite requests not to interfere with proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).”However, volating all law and order, Mamata Banerjee, with the aid of police personnel, forcibly took possession of all digital devices along with key incriminating documents from the possession of the authorised officer and left the premises around 12.15pm,” PTI reported quoting the writ petition of the federal probe agency.The agency alleged that she, with the help of police personnel, took away digital devices and “key incriminating documents,” forcing officials to terminate the search for security reasons without completing any seizures. Go to Source