West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday led a protest march in Kolkata against the Enforcement Directorate’s raids on the residence and offices of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain, accusing the BJP-led Centre of political vendetta ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Accompanied by senior Trinamool Congress leaders, ministers, MPs, MLAs and party supporters, Banerjee began the march from the 8B Bus Stand area, raising slogans against the Centre and alleging the misuse of central agencies to intimidate political opponents. The rally was proceeding towards Hazra More.
Alleges Seizure Of TMC Data
The protest came a day after Mamata Banerjee paid a surprise visit to Jain’s Loudon Street residence during the ED’s search operation. The TMC supremo alleged that the agency was attempting to seize the party’s internal documents, hard disks and confidential organisational data that had no connection with any financial probe. Escalating her attack, Banerjee earlier condemned the detention of several TMC MPs, including Mahua Moitra and Derek O’Brien, who were protesting outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s office in New Delhi against the ED action.
Slams Centre Over Agency Action
Calling the incident “arrogance in uniform,” Banerjee said dragging elected representatives for exercising their democratic right to protest was unacceptable in a democracy. Videos of the protests and detentions have since surfaced on social media, further fuelling the political row. The Trinamool Congress has maintained that the ED action is part of a larger attempt to target the party ahead of the crucial 2026 polls in West Bengal.