Bengal CM Slams ED Raids on I-PAC Offices, Alleges Conspiracy by Home Minister Amit Shah

Kolkata- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday reacted angrily to raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the office of political strategy firm India Political Action Committee (I-PAC) in Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata and at the residence of I-PAC co-founder Pratik Jain in central Kolkata.

Terming the ED action a conspiracy, the Chief Minister alleged that the raids were orchestrated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whom she described as the “naughtiest and nastiest” home minister the country has seen.

After learning about the simultaneous ED operations, which were carried out with the support of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel, Banerjee, accompanied by Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma, visited Jain’s residence on Loudon Street on Thursday afternoon. She entered the premises briefly before addressing the media outside, launching a scathing attack on both the ED and the Union Home Minister.

“The ED officials were trying to seize documents belonging to my party, the Trinamool Congress. I brought those documents back with me. This useless Union Home Minister cannot protect the country, but he is using the ED to target my party. They were also trying to confiscate Pratik’s mobile phone and hard drives. This Home Minister is the naughtiest and nastiest in the country,” Banerjee alleged.

She further announced that she would also visit I-PAC’s Salt Lake office, where ED searches were continuing. I-PAC has been working as the Trinamool Congress’ poll strategy agency since 2020, ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

Reacting to the Chief Minister’s statements and actions, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, accused Banerjee of attempting to interfere in the functioning of a constitutional authority.

He recalled a previous incident when Banerjee allegedly obstructed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) operation at the residence of former Kolkata Police Commissioner and current acting Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, even staging a sit-in protest against the CBI.

“Appropriate legal action should be initiated against the Chief Minister as well. Why is she so concerned about an ED raid at the office of a private corporate entity?” Adhikari asked.

With inputs from IANS