West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday strongly criticised the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for its raid on the office of election strategy firm, I-PAC, and the residence of its head Pratik Jain, calling the action a “crime” and a “murder of democracy”.
The chief minister arrived at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake around 1.38 pm and remained there for about 45 minutes, even as ED officials continued their search inside. Speaking to the media after stepping out, Mamata alleged that the agency had seized documents, laptops and mobile phones from an “empty office”.
“There was no one in the office this morning. The ED came around 6 am and took all the documents, laptops and iPhones. I think this is a crime. A murder of democracy,” she said.
Directly targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mamata said, “Control your Home Minister.
Unable to fight us politically, they have stolen our political strategy in this way. The people will give their answer in the elections. The BJP’s results will be even worse.”
Warning the Centre, the Chief Minister added, “I will show courtesy. But you will be mistaken if you think this is my weakness. You will loot everything of mine, and I will just sit silently?”
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“I-PAC is the authorised team of the Trinamool Congress. Like thieves, the ED has looted all the documents; all the tables are empty. Is this right?” Mamata asked.
Earlier in the day, the ED carried out simultaneous searches at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake and Pratik Jain’s residence on Loudon Street. According to ED sources, the raids are linked to an old coal smuggling case being investigated in Delhi.
On learning about the searches, the Chief Minister, accompanied by Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma, first visited Pratik Jain’s residence. After a brief stay, she left carrying a green file and alleged that key party documents were being seized. She claimed she had brought some important documents with her and alleged that hard drives and mobile phones were being taken away by the agency.
Mamata further accused the ED of attempting to seize TMC’s internal information, including candidate lists and election strategies. “Is this the duty of the ED and Amit Shah?” she asked, launching a sharp attack on the Union Home Minister, calling him “a nasty Home Minister” who “cannot protect the country”.
The Chief Minister also linked the ED action to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging large-scale exclusion of voters in West Bengal. “Nearly 1.5 crore are being called for hearings. The names of 54 lakh people have been dropped. Even after this, they know they cannot win, so they stole our strategy,” she claimed.
I-PAC has played a key role in Trinamool Congress’s electoral strategy since 2019, after the BJP’s significant rise in the state during that year’s Lok Sabha elections. Under the guidance of Prashant Kishor, I-PAC worked closely with the party ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections, which saw the Trinamool win 213 seats and Mamata Banerjee return as Chief Minister for a third term. Though Kishor stepped away from active political consulting in 2022, I-PAC continued to work with the party and was also involved in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which the TMC won 29 seats out of 42 in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari criticised Mamata’s visit to Pratik Jain’s residence, calling it “completely unethical”. However, he said he would not comment on the ED’s investigation or the substance of the case.
Adhikari also recalled earlier instances where the Chief Minister had protested against central agencies, including her sit-in outside the CBI’s Nizam Palace office in 2021 following the arrest of senior TMC leaders, and her protest during a CBI search at the residence of former police commissioner Rajeev Kumar.
As of Thursday afternoon, ED searches at the I-PAC office and Jain’s residence were still underway, with senior state police officials, including Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, present at the Salt Lake location.
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