Mamata storms I-PAC chief’s house during ED raid, alleges attempt to seize TMC data

In a dramatic and unprecedented turn of events on Thursday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee personally intervened at the residence of Pratik Jain, head of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), as the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches that she described as politically motivated and unconstitutional.

Arriving around noon, mere minutes after Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Verma reached the site, Banerjee spent roughly 20-25 minutes inside Jain’s residence before emerging, clutching a green folder she insisted contained critical party documents.

“This morning, the ED raided my IT cell office and searched the residence of its in-charge. They were attempting to confiscate my party’s documents and hard disks, including sensitive information on our assembly poll candidates. I have brought these back,” Banerjee told reporters, her voice ringing with defiance.

The chief minister accused the central agency of attempting to seize hard disks, mobile phones, candidate lists, and internal strategy papers, questioning sharply: “Is it the duty of the ED to collect political party data?”

The searches, she said, targeted I-PAC not just for its consultancy work with the TMC but also because it oversees the party’s IT and media operations. Banerjee went further, leveling a scathing attack at Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “This is not law enforcement. This is political vendetta. The home minister is behaving like the nastiest home minister, not someone who protects the country,” she asserted.

Banerjee also highlighted alleged selective targeting by central agencies, noting that names of over 15 lakh voters from West Bengal had reportedly been removed from electoral rolls without explanation, underscoring what she described as an orchestrated attempt to undermine the opposition.

After the residence visit, Banerjee proceeded to I-PAC’s Sector-V office in Salt Lake, where DGP Rajeev Kumar was also present, emphasizing her determination to safeguard the party’s internal information. Observers have drawn parallels with a 2019 standoff at Loudon Street, when Banerjee had rushed to the bungalow of then police commissioner Rajeev Kumar during a CBI search and later staged a dharna in central Kolkata.

The political heat escalated further as Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari condemned Banerjee’s actions, accusing her of repeated interference in the functioning of constitutional agencies. “The CM and the Kolkata police commissioner’s visit was unethical, unconstitutional, and a direct obstruction to the central agency’s investigation,” Adhikari said, questioning why TMC’s documents were allegedly held with a private consultancy firm.

As of now, the ED has not issued an official statement, and the precise nature of the case under investigation remains unclear. The episode, however, has once again thrust West Bengal’s political theatre into the national spotlight, highlighting the fraught intersection of law enforcement, politics, and power.

With PTI inputs