The confrontation between the Centre and the West Bengal government over the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) raids on political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and its co-founder Pratik Jain intensified on Friday, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading a protest march in Kolkata and the BJP accusing her of deep-rooted corruption.
The matter also led to disruptions in the Calcutta High Court. Justice Suvra Ghosh, who was hearing multiple petitions related to the raids, briefly left the courtroom citing excessive crowding. As the High Court will remain closed over the weekend, the case is scheduled to be taken up again on Wednesday.
I-PAC has been assisting the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with election strategy ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls later this year. The ED conducted raids on Thursday at I-PAC’s office and at Jain’s residence in connection with an alleged coal smuggling case. The agency claimed that during the raids, Banerjee removed a laptop, a mobile phone, and certain documents from Jain’s house.
In a petition heard on Friday, the ED alleged that the Chief Minister misused her constitutional position by obstructing officials from performing their duties during the raids. The agency also sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident, including an examination of Banerjee’s role.
Counter-petitions were filed by Pratik Jain and the Trinamool Congress. The party alleged that the ED action was politically motivated and intended to seize sensitive documents related to the TMC’s election strategy, which, it claimed, could be passed on to the BJP.
Protest Rally
While court proceedings were underway, Banerjee led a large protest rally on foot from Jadavpur to Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata, covering a distance of around six kilometres. She was accompanied by senior party leaders and workers, while supporters gathered along the route.
The Chief Minister and other TMC leaders accused the BJP of attempting to influence the upcoming state elections by misusing central agencies.
The BJP rejected these allegations and accused Banerjee of corruption. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Chief Minister should be named as an accused for allegedly intimidating ED officials.
“There are several suspicious circumstances surrounding the barbaric actions of Mamata Banerjee. This suggests she was attempting to rescue material sensitive enough to implicate her and her party,” Prasad said.
