She said the raid at the residence and offices of Pratik Jain, "the in-charge of my IT cell", was politically motivated and unconstitutional. Banerjee arrived around noon, shortly after Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma reached the site, and stayed for 20-25 minutes, emerging with a green folder in hand
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addresses the media after she arrived at the residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain amid an ongoing ED raid, in Kolkata, on Thursday. Pic/PTI
West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee on Thursday visited the residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain amid an ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid, alleging that the central agency was attempting to confiscate the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC’s) internal documents, hard disks, and sensitive election-related data.
She said the raid at the residence and offices of Jain, "the in-charge of my IT cell", was politically motivated and unconstitutional, news agency PTI reported.
Banerjee arrived around noon, shortly after Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma reached the site, and stayed for 20-25 minutes, emerging with a green folder in hand.
“They have raided the residence and offices of our in-charge of IT cell. They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which have details about our party candidates for the assembly polls. I have brought those back,” Banerjee told reporters.
She alleged that ED officers had taken hard disks, mobile phones, laptops, candidate lists, and internal strategy documents of the party.
“Is it the duty of the ED to collect political party data?” she asked.
TMC data and poll strategies seized: Mamata Banerjee
The Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which also manages the TMC’s IT and media operations in addition to providing political consultancy, was the target of the searches.
Banerjee launched a sharp attack on the BJP leadership, calling the raid an act of “political vendetta” and accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of misusing constitutional agencies to intimidate Opposition parties, PTI reported.
“This is not law enforcement. Is this how the nastiest home minister functions, who can protect the country? I am sorry Mr Amit Shah, the Prime Minister must control his home minister,” she said.
The ED searches had begun early Thursday at I-PAC’s office in Sector V, Salt Lake, PTI reported. Banerjee alleged the raids started around 6 am when no one was present at the office.
“They transferred our data, poll strategies and information into their system. This is a crime,” she said after visiting the I-PAC office.
Sources said several files were brought out of the office and placed in the CM’s vehicle while she was still at Jain’s residence. Banerjee later visited the Sector-5 office around 1 pm, where senior officers of the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate had cordoned off the area.
BJP is murderer of democracy: West Bengal CM
Several TMC leaders and ministers, including Bidhannagar Mayor Krishna Chakraborty and state minister Sujit Bose, were present.
Senior state police officers, including DGP Rajeev Kumar, also reached the site. Central forces had sealed the building’s entry and exit points.
Without using the VIP lift, Banerjee accessed the building through the basement and reached the 11th-floor office.
“They have taken our election strategy, our SIR data and other details. If the assembly polls pass and we have to draw up election plans afresh, who will be responsible?” she asked.
Banerjee accused the BJP of undermining democracy, alleging large-scale deletion of voters from electoral rolls in West Bengal.
“The BJP is the murderer of democracy. Names of over 15 lakh people have been deleted through the SIR process. Do they think they can capture the state by deleting voters and raiding IT cell offices of political parties?”
'Dare BJP to fight us politically if they want to win Bengal'
She asserted that TMC is a registered political party paying income tax and said, “The Centre cannot bulldoze us using money and muscle power. I dare the BJP to fight us politically if they want to win Bengal.”
Banerjee said she would remain at the I-PAC office until Jain arrived and resumed work.
The episode echoes a 2019 standoff at the same Loudon Street address, when Banerjee had rushed to the bungalow of then police commissioner Rajeev Kumar during a CBI search and staged a dharna in central Kolkata.
Reacting to the developments, West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, accused Banerjee of interfering in the functioning of constitutional agencies.
“I feel that the chief minister’s visit, along with the Kolkata police commissioner, was unethical, unconstitutional and a direct interference in a central agency’s investigation,” Adhikari said, questioning why TMC’s internal documents were allegedly with a private consultancy firm.
The ED had not issued any official statement on the searches at the time of reporting, and the exact nature of the case being probed remained unclear.
(With PTI inputs)
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