High Drama Over I-PAC Raids: Mamata Banerjee Alleges Strategy Theft, ED Says She Obst
High Drama Over I-PAC Raids: Mamata Banerjee Alleges Strategy Theft, ED Says She Obstructed Probe
M.U.H
08/01/202624
The Enforcement Directorate’s search operations in West Bengal and Delhi have sparked a massive political confrontation between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre. Here are the key points of the developing story:
1. Massive Multi-City Crackdown: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched simultaneous search operations at 10 premises across West Bengal and Delhi. The agency says the raids are linked to a money laundering probe into a coal smuggling syndicate allegedly led by Anup Majee, involving the illegal excavation of coal from Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) leasehold areas.
2. Focus on I-PAC and Pratik Jain: Significant targets of the search included the Salt Lake office of the political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its chief, Pratik Jain. Jain is a key strategist for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and currently oversees the party’s IT operations.
3. CM’s Direct Confrontation: In a dramatic escalation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally visited the raid sites. Accompanied by senior police personnel and state officials, the Chief Minister’s presence led to a tense standoff with central agency officials.
4. Allegations of Evidence Seizure: The ED issued a statement on X alleging that the Chief Minister and state police “forcibly removed" physical documents and electronic evidence, including hard disks, from two of the searched premises, disrupting the legal process.
5. ‘Political Vendetta’ Claims: Banerjee slammed the raids as a “nasty" attempt at political vendetta. She accused the Centre of using the ED to sabotage her party’s election preparations, claiming the agency was specifically targeting her “IT office" and sensitive strategy data.
6. Mamata Banerjee Targets Amit Shah: The Chief Minister directed her ire at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, labelling him the “naughtiest and nastiest" Home Minister. She questioned whether it was the duty of a central agency to collect a rival party’s candidate lists and internal policy documents.
7. The SIR Controversy: During her media address, Banerjee linked the raids to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal. She alleged that while voter names were being deleted on one side, the ED was being used to “loot" party information on the other.
