Mamata Banerjee Condemns ED Raids on I-PAC Office in Kolkata

Mamata Banerjee's Strong Reaction to ED Raids

West Bengal's Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has expressed her strong disapproval of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) recent raid on the I-PAC office located in Kolkata. She accused the central agency of seizing documents belonging to her party and warned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that similar actions could be taken against their state office as well.

Banerjee claimed that the BJP is conducting these raids to gather information about her party ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. She questioned whether it is the duty of the ED and Amit Shah to confiscate the hard disks and candidate lists of her party. She criticized the home minister, stating that they are unable to protect the country while taking away all her party's documents. She posed a rhetorical question about what would happen if she were to raid the BJP's office, highlighting the ongoing voter suppression tactics in West Bengal.

Background of the ED Investigation

The ED's involvement stems from a case initiated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in November 2020, which alleged large-scale coal theft from the Eastern Coalfields mines in the Asansol area and its surroundings. Anup Manjhi, also known as Lala, is identified as the main suspect in this case. Previously, the ED had interrogated Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the Chief Minister's nephew, claiming he benefited from the illegal coal trade.

I-PAC's Political Role

I-PAC was established by political strategist Prashant Kishor ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He later founded a political party named Jan Suraj, which did not win any seats in the Bihar assembly elections last year. The consultancy firm has worked with the Trinamool Congress and the West Bengal government following the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Their contributions during the 2021 assembly elections are documented on I-PAC's website under the title 'Didi-R 10 Ongikar.'