Today i.e. on Friday, several Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs were detained in Delhi outside the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for protesting against the raid conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the I-PAC office in Kolkata. The MPs had alleged misuse of the investigating agency by the Centre.
TMC MPs Derek O’Brien, Shatabdi Roy, Mahua Moitra, Kirti Azad and others protested outside Amit Shah’s office in Delhi and raised slogans against the minister.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police detained Derek O’Brien, Mahua Moitra and others, picked them up and dragged them into the police van. “You see what’s happening to the MPs here,” Derek O’Brien said as he was dragged to the ground by policemen.
Mahua Moitra, who was picked up from the protest site by the police, said, “We will defeat the BJP. The entire country is watching how the Delhi Police is treating an elected MP.”
Opposing the ED raid, TMC MP Shatabdi Roy said that the central government sends its investigating agencies during elections to win the elections.
He further said, “They sent ED teams yesterday, and they remember everything during elections. They send ED and CBI teams only to win the elections, but they will not win the elections.”
TMC MP Kirti Azad said, “ED has conducted the raids wrongly and it is an attempt to win the elections in an undemocratic manner. BJP will not be able to win the elections in this manner.”
The incident comes after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly intervened during the ED raid on the offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC in connection with the coal smuggling case.
Banerjee alleged that the central agency has seized party-related material, including hard disks, lists of candidates and strategic documents, and accused Amit Shah of misusing central agencies.
Speaking to reporters, Banerjee said, “Is it the duty of the ED and Amit Shah to collect the party’s hard disk and the list of candidates? That despicable, cunning home minister who cannot protect the country is taking away all my party documents.”
The Chief Minister gave a direct challenge to the BJP and Shah and showed them the courage to come to West Bengal and contest the elections in a democratic manner.
He said, “If Amit Shah wants Bengal, then come, contest the elections democratically and win. Everyone should know what kind of operation has been carried out. At 6:00 in the morning they came and seized the party’s data, laptops, strategies and mobile phones. Their forensic experts transferred all the data. I believe this is a crime.”
Banerjee claimed that I-PAC is not a private organization but an authorized team working for the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). He alleged that the ED has seized sensitive documents including data related to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
Refuting the Chief Minister’s allegations, the ED accused Mamata Banerjee of entering the residential premises of I-PAC director Prateek Jain during the ongoing search operation and taking away “crucial evidence”, including physical documents and electronic devices.
“Banerjee entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain and took away important evidence including physical documents and electronic devices,” the ED said. The ED further said that her convoy then proceeded towards the office of I-PAC, from where “Ms. Banerjee, her associates and state police personnel forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence.”
Clarifying its stand, the ED said, “The search is evidence-based and does not target any political organisation. No party office has been searched. The search is not related to any election and is part of routine action against money laundering. The search has been conducted in accordance with established legal safeguards.”
It further said that the searches conducted under PMLA on January 8, 2026, included persons associated with the generation of money derived from coal smuggling, hawala operators and handlers.
This development in West Bengal has led to a sharp conflict between the ruling TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
