TMC MPs stage protest outside Amit Shah’s office in Delhi, detained

In a vivid display of political defiance, eight Trinamool Congress MPs converged outside the office of Union home minister Amit Shah in the national capital on Friday, brandishing placards that read: “Bengal rejects Modi-Shah’s dirty politics.”

The protest, a prelude to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s rally in Kolkata, sought to spotlight what the party describes as the Centre’s misuse of central agencies to harass Opposition forces ahead of crucial elections.

Leading the charge were prominent MPs including Derek O’Brien, Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar, Saket Gokhale, Pratima Mondal, Kirti Azad, and Dr Sharmila Sarkar, who raised slogans and staged a resolute demonstration against what they called a campaign of “dirty politics” orchestrated from New Delhi. In a tense moment, O’Brien and Moitra were briefly detained by police as security personnel sought to prevent them from blocking access to the home minister’s office, a move that drew immediate condemnation from their colleagues.

“This is what is happening to MPs today,” O’Brien exclaimed after being released, his words echoing the sentiment that the democratic process itself is under siege.

The protest comes in the wake of Enforcement Directorate raids conducted on Thursday at the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and at the residence of its co-founder, Pratik Jain. CM Mamata Banerjee herself visited the sites, accusing the ED of attempting to “loot” sensitive party documents ahead of the Assembly elections. During her visits, she was seen carrying files and a laptop she claimed contained critical data on the party’s election strategy, candidate lists, and internal finances.

The ED’s actions, targeting I-PAC — which has worked with the Trinamool Congress since 2019 — and its co-founder, ignited protests across West Bengal on Thursday evening, with party leaders and workers rallying under the call of Banerjee to defend the party’s electoral machinery. The raids, and the allegations of document seizure, have set the stage for a dramatic confrontation between the BJP-led central government and the Trinamool Congress, underscoring the escalating tension ahead of West Bengal’s polls.

In this charged atmosphere, the MPs’ demonstration in Delhi became not merely a protest but a theatrical assertion of political sovereignty, a vivid reminder that Opposition voices are willing to confront power, even at the gates of India’s highest offices.

With IANS inputs