Mamata Banerjee Leads Protest Against ED Raids in Kolkata

Protest March in Kolkata

On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spearheaded a protest march in Kolkata against the Enforcement Directorate's searches at the residence and offices of IPAC chief Pratik Jain. Following the detention of TMC MPs, Banerjee launched a strong attack on the BJP.

The protest commenced around 2:30 PM, coinciding with a hearing in Justice Shubhra Ghosh's bench. A significant crowd of lawyers and interns gathered at the court, creating a situation where there was hardly any space to stand. Justice Ghosh observed the crowd and instructed the lawyers and interns to exit the premises, clarifying that they were not involved in the case at hand.

She allocated five minutes for the crowd to disperse, warning that if the numbers did not decrease, she would not proceed with the hearing.

Response to Detentions

Earlier, TMC MPs, including Mahua Moitra and Derek O'Brien, were detained while protesting outside the office of the Union Home Minister against the ED's raid on Pratik Jain's residence in Kolkata. In response, Banerjee criticized the central government and the BJP, describing the treatment of the MPs as an act of arrogance by those in uniform.

Banerjee expressed her condemnation of the unacceptable behavior towards her MPs on social media, stating that dragging elected representatives onto the streets for exercising their democratic rights is not law enforcement but rather a display of arrogance. She emphasized that democracy belongs to the people, not to the BJP.