Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Jan 8: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday mounted a fierce counterattack against the BJP-led Union government following Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the Salt Lake office of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its director Pratik Jain, alleging that her party’s entire election machinery had been “plundered” under the guise of an investigation.
Banerjee claimed that sensitive Trinamool Congress (TMC) material — including Assembly election strategies, candidate lists, booth-level data, internal records and financial documents — was seized during the searches. Calling the operation a “criminal act”, she alleged it was a deliberate attempt by the BJP to undermine and “bulldoze” Bengal ahead of elections.
“They have stolen our election strategy, candidate lists, booth agents’ details, hard disks, financial papers, bank information and internal party data. This is nothing but loot in the name of a raid,” Banerjee said after visiting the I-PAC office in Salt Lake’s Sector V, where ED officials were still conducting searches.
Rejecting the portrayal of I-PAC as a corporate consultancy, Banerjee said the organisation plays a central role in implementing TMC’s electoral strategy, making the raids politically motivated. “This was done only to transfer our poll strategy to the BJP,” she alleged.
The Chief Minister said the raids began early in the morning when only a few staff members were present. She announced that an FIR would be filed against the ED’s forensic team, accusing them of illegally copying and transferring party-related data from laptops.
“Our files were lying scattered everywhere. These are party documents. I have taken some of them with me,” Banerjee said, as police officials accompanying her were seen removing files and diaries from the premises and placing them in her vehicle. She made similar claims after visiting Pratik Jain’s residence, stating that documents related to the upcoming Assembly elections were taken from there as well.
Launching a direct attack on the BJP leadership, Banerjee accused the Centre of destroying democratic institutions. “The BJP is the killer of democracy. They want to capture Bengal by force, but the people of Bengal will never bow,” she said, singling out Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “If he has the courage, he should come here and contest elections instead of stealing my party’s documents.”
She further alleged that “money power and muscle power” were being used to influence the political process and urged the Prime Minister to rein in the Home Minister. Banerjee also linked the raids to broader allegations of voter suppression, claiming that millions of names had been deleted from electoral rolls through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Calling the ED action an insult to the IT sector and the right to work, Banerjee questioned the fairness of the system. “Is this not the murder of democracy? Young people are not allowed to register as voters, women’s names are being deleted, and victims are denied a chance to defend themselves,” she said.
She announced that she would remain at the I-PAC office until the raids conclude and Pratik Jain joins her there. Banerjee also declared statewide protests, saying TMC leaders and workers would hold rallies and processions from 4 pm onwards to oppose what she termed the BJP’s attempt to “bulldoze Bengal.”
The ED conducted searches on Thursday at I-PAC’s Salt Lake office — the political consulting firm that has been working with the TMC since 2019 — and at Pratik Jain’s Loudon Street residence in central Kolkata. A special ED team from Delhi reportedly carried out the operation.
According to ED sources, the raids are linked to an earlier coal smuggling case registered in Delhi, in which I-PAC’s name allegedly surfaced in connection with certain financial transactions.