ED Vs Mamata Banerjee: From Courtroom To Streets, I-PAC Raids Drama Intensifies On Day 2

Last Updated:January 09, 2026, 17:54 IST

Mamata and ED move HC, but judge leaves courtroom citing crowding; TMC chief questions detention of party leaders, holds rally in Kolkata, even as BJP accuses her of corruption

West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee leads a protest march in Kolkata on Friday. (PTI)

The Enforcement Directorate versus West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee clash over the raids on the TMC’s strategist I-PAC intensified further on Friday.

While Banerjee held a protest rally in Kolkata and questioned the detention of TMC leaders and ED action, the BJP accused her of corruption.

THE RAIDS ON I-PAC PREMISES ON THURSDAY

I-PAC has been providing political consultancy to the TMC and the state government since 2021.

The ED on Thursday searched the Salt Lake office of I-PAC and its founder and one of the directors Pratik Jain as part of an alleged coal scam-linked money laundering case. Some other locations in Bengal and Delhi were also raided. The ED alleged that Banerjee entered Jain’s residence on Loudon Road in Kolkata during the raids and “took away key evidence" and followed the same action at the I-PAC office.

The ED claimed in the petition that around Rs 20 crore of hawala funds, generated from alleged coal pilferage in West Bengal, found its way to I-PAC and were even allegedly used in the Goa elections.

“Whatever I did, I did as the Chairman of the TMC. I have done no wrong . Why did you come to do chori? You were stealing my data from my office. I-PAC is an authorised office… I called Pratik Jain, he did not take call . Then I felt that they must be taking my party documents. I have all those pen drives, if necessary, I will open all those," Banerjee said on Friday, defending her action amid the raid.

TMC VS ED: WHAT HAPPENED IN COURT?

The ED approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the role of Banerjee, senior police officials and others for allegedly obstructing its raids in Kolkata against I-PAC and its director. The TMC, too, on Friday moved the Calcutta High Court against the ED raids at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its chief here, seeking restraint on “misuse and dissemination" of documents seized during the search operations.

ALSO READ | ‘Rs 20 Crore Travelled From Kolkata To Goa’: How Coal Scam Trail Led ED To I-PAC | Exclusive

The ruling party in West Bengal, in its petition, alleged that the ED seized sensitive and confidential political data meant for the TMC’s use in the upcoming assembly elections, in a display of “arbitrary, mala fide, and colourable exercise of power". The Trinamool Congress alleged that the ED operations were aimed at “unlawfully accessing and controlling the petitioner’s electoral roll management, campaign planning, and political strategy, with the clear intent to disrupt a free and fair electoral process" under the pretext of investigation.

The Calcutta High Court judge Suvra Ghosh, hearing various petitions on the issue, left the courtroom, citing excessive crowding. As the high court will not be functioning over the weekend, the case will now be taken up only on Wednesday.

MAMATA TAKES TO THE STREES IN KOLKATA

Banerjee on Friday walked from Kolkata’s Jadavpur to Hazra crossing to protest against the raids. She criticised the detention of Trinamool Congress MPs in Delhi, accusing the BJP-led central government of suppressing democratic protest and misusing law enforcement agencies.

She said dignity and respect in a democracy are non-negotiable, asserting that citizens and elected representatives cannot be treated arbitrarily by those in power.

Earlier in the day, several TMC MPs were detained in the national capital on Friday for protesting outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s office against the ED raid.

In a post on X, CM Banerjee wrote, “I strongly condemn the shameful and unacceptable treatment meted out to our Members of Parliament. Dragging elected representatives on the streets for exercising their democratic right to protest outside the Home Minister’s office is not law enforcement – it is arrogance in uniform. This is a democracy, not the BJP’s private property. Democracy does not function on the convenience or comfort of those in power. When BJP leaders protest, they expect red carpets and special privileges. When opposition MPs raise their voices, they are dragged, detained, and humiliated. This double standard exposes the BJP’s idea of democracy – obedience, not dissent."

“Let it be clear: respect is mutual. You respect us, we respect you. You drag us on the road, and we will drag you back to the constitutional idea of tolerance, dissent, and democratic morality. This is our India. We are citizens by right, not at the mercy of a chair, a badge, or a position of power. No government, no party, and no Home Minister gets to decide who deserves dignity in a democracy," the post read.

TMC MP Mahuta Moitra said,"This morning, eight of us MPs came, and we were protesting outside the Home Ministry. We were peacefully protesting, and you saw how they picked us up, dragged us, and brought us here."

THE POLITICAL WAR OF WORDS

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday condemned Banerjee’s conduct during the ED raids at a private consultancy firm, alleging her actions showed she was trying to “rescue something sensitive" implicating her and her party in the money laundering case linked to the alleged coal smuggling.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said she should be made an accused for intimidating Enforcement Directorate officials investigating the case and “snatching away" documents from them during the raids. “There are a lot of suspicious circumstances surrounding the barbaric action of Mamata Benerjee," the former Union minister said, adding, “She knows the norms of governance while being a sitting chief minister for 14 years. She has also served as a Union minister in the past…This means she was trying to rescue something sensitive implicating her and her party…What else could be inferred? What was her fear?"

West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari on Friday strongly criticised Banerjee’s reaction to the ED raid. “It is a completely criminal offence. The CM’s action is a direct attack on the Constitution."

West Bengal BJP President and MP Samik Bhattacharya slammed Banerjee. “Can any Chief Minister who has taken the oath of the Constitution do such a thing? Has anyone ever seen such a sight in India? The Chief Minister of a state, where a raid is going on, and she comes to steal files. They are snatching files from government officials," he said.

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose flagged legal and constitutional repercussions. “Legal views were brought to my notice. First, preventing a public servant from the due discharge of his public functions is an offence under the BNS, punishable with imprisonment, a fine, or both. Second, intimidating or threatening a public servant from performing their duties is a graver offence, punishable with 2 years’ imprisonment and a fine, or both. The third issue is Constitutional and serious," CV Ananda Bose said.

“A constitutional functionary is expected to facilitate implementation of the Constitution. The CM is a Constitutional authority. By doing this act, as they claim, she has violated the Constitutional rights to continue as the CM. I am keeping my ears and eyes open," he added.

TMC’s Mahua Moitra alleged that the Enforcement Directorate was “committing robbery" at the I-PAC office, where all of the TMC’s data related to elections was present, and justified Banerjee’s actions to protect that data. Moitra questioned the timing of the ED’s raid at the I-PAC office in connection with a “seven-year-old" alleged coal scam, and said that they were aware that TMC election information is available at that office. “ED is not carrying out the investigation, but is illegally stealing. The ED is not taking any action because if there was a seven-year-old coal scam, it suddenly woke up, a month before the Bengal elections, and they remembered the idea of taking action, and where did they go to take action? I-PAC is not a hidden organisation. Everyone in India knows that I-PAC is an election strategist, an election consultant," she said.

“They’ve been working with the Trinamool Congress not just from today, but for the last seven or eight years, and all our services, all our candidate lists, all our election information is with I-PAC because that’s what they do. They raided their office. We would say it wasn’t a raid; the ED committed a robbery, and they were taking all our information, and it’s our duty, it’s our party’s duty to protect that information, and that’s where Mamata Banerjee, the lioness, went. Only Mamata Banerjee can stop them like this," she added.

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