Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 9: A political row over Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on the office and residence of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain in Kolkata escalated on Friday, with several Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders staging a protest outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s office in the national capital.

The protest witnessed dramatic scenes as Delhi Police detained TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Derek O’Brien. Moitra was seen being carried away by police personnel while shouting slogans against the Centre. “Shame, shame, shame,” she yelled, accusing the Centre of misusing central agencies and asserting that the TMC would emerge victorious in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

Targeting the Union home minister, Moitra alleged that the ED was being used as a “lootera” to access the party’s internal information ahead of the polls. “Bengal me hum jeetenge, chahe ye jo bhi kar len (We will win in Bengal no matter what they do),” she was heard saying during the protest.

The demonstrations in Delhi came a day after a tense face-off between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and ED officials during raids at Pratik Jain’s premises in Kolkata. Banerjee alleged that Jain heads the TMC’s IT cell and claimed the raids were aimed at seizing sensitive party data related to the Assembly elections.

“They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which have details of our candidates for the Assembly polls. I have brought those back,” Banerjee reportedly said after visiting the raid site on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the TMC supremo has called for a protest rally in Kolkata on Friday. The rally is expected to be held from Jadavpur 8B bus stand to Hazra crossing, covering a distance of over five kilometres. Banerjee has urged party workers and supporters to participate in large numbers, accusing the Centre of political vendetta through central agencies.