TMC MPs Protest Outside Amit Shah’s Office After ED Raids, Back Mamata Banerjee’s Vendetta Charge

Mamata Banerjee backed TMC MPs’ protest outside Amit Shah’s office over ED raids, alleging political vendetta.

The political standoff reached the doorstep of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, a day after Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s dramatic appearance at the residence of the I-PAC chief and the political consultancy firm’s office during ED raids in Kolkata.

As per the reports, on Friday morning, eight All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MPs staged a dharna outside Shah’s office in Delhi to protest the Enforcement Directorate’s searches at the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office carried out a day earlier. The MPs were later detained by the police.

Holding placards and raising slogans, the protesting MPs accused the Centre of misusing central agencies to target opposition parties in the run-up to elections.

Those leading the protest included Mahua Moitra, Derek O’Brien, Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar, Saket Gokhale, Pratima Mondal, Kirti Azad and Dr Sharmila Sarkar. Visuals from the scene showed MPs displaying placards reading, “Bengal rejects Modi-Shah’s dirty politics,” underscoring the party’s charge of political vendetta against the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.

Referring to Pratik Jain as the head of the TMC’s IT cell, Banerjee claimed the ED searches were driven by political vendetta. She alleged that the agency was trying to access sensitive party data, including election strategies and internal information.

ED–Mamata Showdown In Kolkata

Dramatic scenes unfolded in Kolkata on Thursday when Banerjee reached the residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain while ED officials were conducting searches there.

As per HT reports, ED and the chief minister offered sharply different versions of the incident. While the agency accused Banerjee of entering the premises and removing crucial evidence, the TMC supremo countered that ED officials were seizing important party documents, including hard disks and financial records.

Defending her intervention, Banerjee questioned the agency’s intent. “If they try to frame me, create false cases or take away our documents, should I not resist?” she asked.

Fury At I-PAC Office

Television visuals showed Banerjee brushing past media personnel and security as she arrived at Pratik Jain’s office during the searches. The ED action, according to reports is linked to a money laundering investigation related to an alleged multi crore coal pilferage scam.

“They raided the house of our IT chief and were confiscating party documents and hard disks containing details of our Assembly candidates. I brought them back,” Banerjee was quoted as saying.

Later, she alleged that the agency had taken away all critical data, including voter lists, and claimed such raids typically occur just ahead of elections. Assembly polls in West Bengal are expected in the coming months.

Files, Chaos And The ‘Naughty HM’ Remark

Escalating her attack, Banerjee accused the Centre of using central agencies to intimidate opposition parties before elections. She described Union Home Minister Amit Shah as “naughty”, alleging misuse of investigative agencies.

“This is not law enforcement. Is this how a Home Minister functions unable to protect the country and instead harassing parties before elections?” she said.

She also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in his Home Minister and defeat the TMC through democratic means. “You are trying to steal our papers, strategies, voter data and Bengal itself. By doing this, the seats you expect to win will drop to zero,” she warned.

Visuals from the scene showed confusion as individuals were seen rushing with files while media cameras crowded the area. Banerjee was also seen holding documents in a green file as she addressed reporters, reiterating her charge that the ED attempted to seize sensitive organisational data during the raids.