KOLKATA: West Bengal on Thursday witnessed an unprecedented clash between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), as the probe agency carried out raids at as many as six premises of TMC's poll strategist company I-PAC.
The central probe agency carried out raids at six locations in West Bengal since Thursday morning, including the residence of IPAC chief and TMC IT cell head Prateek Jain in Loudon Street and the company's office at Godrej Waterside Building in Sector V, Kolkata. The ED also conducted raids at four locations connected to the I-PAC in Delhi.
However, a huge drama unfolded as TMC supremo Mamata arrived at the residence of Prateek Jain, along with a large number of police officers, while the raid was going on.
After reaching Jain's flat, Mamata alleged that the ED officials were attempting to seize hard disks and internal documents containing TMC's sensitive organisational data.
She termed the raids as "politically motivated and unconstitutional."
"They have raided the residence of our IT chief. They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which had details about our candidates for the assembly polls. I have brought those back," Mamata told reporters.
She then went to the Sector V office of I-PAC at around 12.44 pm stayed there for an hour, following which she spoke to the media.
"Is it the duty of the ED to collect political party data?" Mamata asked.
Terming the exercise an act of intimidation, Mamata called Union Home Minister Amit Shah, "the nastiest Home Minister."
"This is not law enforcement; this is a political vendetta. The home minister is behaving like the nastiest home minister, not someone who protects the country," she said.
The I-PAC, an election management company founded by poll strategist turned politician Prashant Kishore, has been working with the TMC since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The company, which has been working as TMC's poll strategist, was instrumental in the party's return to power in the 2021 Assembly elections.
Soon after Mamata reached the I-PAC office, senior IPS officers, including Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, and Commissioner of Police (CP) of Bidhannagar also arrived at the spot.
Sensing trouble, ED officials contacted senior officers and sought reinforcement from CRPF personnel. Initially, they arrived at the I-PAC office around 8 am with five to six CRPF jawans, when virtually no one was present in the office. The CRPF jawans closed both entry and exit points of the building.
The exact nature of the searches and details of the case being probed were not immediately clear. Neither the ED nor I-PAC has issued any official statement on the matter yet.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari termed the CM's visit to Pratik Jain's house during the ED raid as "unconstitutional and interference" in the central agency's probe.
He said that the ED should take steps against the chief minister.
"I feel that the chief minister and the Kolkata police commissioner's visit was unethical, unconstitutional and direct interference in the central agency's investigation," Adhikari told reporters.
The CPM and Congress also questioned the CM's visit during the ED raid and speculated that the whole episode might have been "staged."
"Drama is being carried out over the raid, but the truth will emerge," said CPM Bengal state secretary Mohammad Salim.
"What is Jain’s role in the Trinamool Congress that the CM had to rush to his residence and office while the raids were carried out? I-PAC is a private company, if it is raided, why should the chief minister visit?" he asked.
Bengal Congress President Shubhankar Sarkar raised questions regarding the legality of the CM's visit, along with police officers, during the raid.
"Why did the CM with the Commissioner of Police visit the office of I-PAC, a private organisation when ED officials were conducting a raid? Under what law could she bring out files while the raid was on? How could the ED officials allow her to walk out? Doesn’t it imply this was a politics of understanding?” Sarkar asked.