Trinamool Congress (TMC) Members of Parliament on Friday staged a protest outside the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, alleging misuse of central agencies ahead of the West Bengal elections.
The protest follows Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids carried out on Thursday by teams from Delhi at six locations in Kolkata, including the Sector V office of political consultancy I-PAC and the Loudon Street residence of its chief, Pratik Jain, who is considered close to the Trinamool leadership.
The protest was led by senior TMC leaders Derek O'Brien, Satabdi Roy, Mahua Moitra, Bapi Haldar, Saket Gokhale, Pratima Mondal, Kirti Azad and Dr Sharmila Sarkar. The MPs accused the BJP-led Centre of using the ED to target the party in an “undemocratic” attempt to influence the electoral process.
Police removed the protesting MPs and detained Derek O’Brien, Mahua Moitra and others during the demonstration.
TMC MP Kirti Azad said, “ED conducted the raids in a wrong way, and this is an attempt to win the elections in an undemocratic manner, BJP will not win the elections this manner...”
Mahua Moitra alleged political misuse of the agency, saying, “Yesterday, entire India, Bengal witnessed how ED was misused by the Home Ministry. The ED was sent to steal our party's political, strategic information. Mamata Banerjee is a lioness, she protected our party's properties.”
Echoing similar sentiments, TMC MP Satabdi Roy said, “...They sent the team of ED yesterday and they remember everything during the time of elections...They send the teams of ED, CBI during the elections just to win, but they won't win the elections...”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday personally intervened during the ED raids at I-PAC’s office, which handles Trinamool’s election strategy, and at Jain’s residence. She alleged that the central agency was attempting to seize sensitive poll-related documents and said she took them away to prevent their confiscation.
“They (ED officials) have seized the candidate list, party strategy, party plan. Is it the duty of the ED and Amit Shah, the most nasty home minister?” Mamata said during the confrontation.
As news of the raids spread, Mamata reached Jain’s apartment at around 11.15 am, nearly four hours after the ED operation began. While leaving the premises, she was seen carrying a green plastic folder.
“The naughty home minister cannot protect the country, and he is taking away all my party documents,” she said.
Banerjee later travelled to I-PAC’s Salt Lake office, where she remained for nearly four hours until 4.22 pm.
The chief minister linked the raids to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which she has alleged is a ploy by the BJP to disenfranchise Trinamool voters and influence the outcome of the Bengal elections.
The Enforcement Directorate, however, rejected the political allegations and said the raids were apolitical. The agency said the searches were part of a money-laundering investigation linked to a years-old coal pilferage scam, in which individuals close to the Trinamool Congress are under scrutiny.
The ED moved the Calcutta High Court alleging that the chief minister had taken away “key evidence”, including documents and electronic devices, and that her actions during the raids “resulted in obstruction in the ongoing investigation”.
I-PAC has also approached the High Court, questioning the legality of the ED’s raids.
The developments have further escalated tensions between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP-led Centre, weeks ahead of the crucial West Bengal elections.
