Mamata Banerjee Takes Action Against ED Raids: What’s Behind the Controversy?

Mamata Banerjee Files Complaints Amid ED Raids

Kolkata: On Friday, West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lodged complaints at two police stations in Kolkata in response to the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) coordinated raids at the India Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office and the home of co-founder Pratik Jain.

Sources indicate that one complaint was filed at the Shakespeare Sarani Police Station, while the other was submitted at the Electronic Complex Police Station.

Notably, neither the ED officials nor the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel were named in the complaints, which were directed against unidentified individuals.

Additionally, Kolkata Police initiated a suo motu complaint at the Shakespeare Sarani Police Station.

In reaction to Banerjee's actions, Sukanta Majumdar, the Union Minister of State and former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal, expressed disappointment, suggesting that the Chief Minister's complaints were an attempt to protect a businessman.

"I urge the Chief Minister to uphold the dignity of her position," Majumdar remarked.

Coincidentally, the Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench, led by Justice Suvra Ghosh, is set to hear three petitions concerning the ED's I-PAC raid later today.

The primary petition from the ED accuses the Chief Minister of misusing her constitutional authority by allegedly obstructing the official duties of central agency officials during the raids.

Two counter-petitions have been filed against the ED's main petition, one by Pratik Jain and the other by the Trinamool Congress.