Several Trinamool Congress MPs were detained by Delhi Police while staging a protest outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah's office, decrying the Enforcement Directorate's raids on the offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata. The demonstration highlighted escalating political tensions, particularly following West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's direct involvement in the raids the previous day. Protesters accused the BJP-led central government of weaponizing investigative agencies to undermine opposition parties as elections approach.

Prominent TMC figures, including Derek O'Brien, Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, and Kirti Azad, chanted slogans against the alleged misuse of power. Visuals from the scene depicted police officers physically escorting the lawmakers into vehicles. O'Brien remarked on the treatment of elected representatives, while Moitra vowed to overcome the BJP's tactics. Roy criticized the deployment of agencies like the ED and CBI during election periods as a strategy to sway outcomes, insisting such efforts would fail. Azad labeled the actions an undemocratic bid to secure electoral victories.

The conflict intensified after Banerjee intervened during the ED operations at I-PAC's premises and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain, linked to a coal smuggling investigation. Banerjee contended that the agency had confiscated sensitive TMC materials, such as hard disks containing candidate lists and strategic documents. She challenged Shah to contest elections fairly in West Bengal, portraying the raids as an intrusion into party affairs rather than legitimate enforcement.

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In response, the ED asserted that Banerjee and her associates had obstructed the searches by removing crucial evidence, including documents and electronic devices. The agency emphasized that the operations were part of a standard money laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, targeting a coal smuggling network led by Anup Majhi and related entities, without any political bias or election-related motives. I-PAC, established by strategist Prashant Kishore, has been integral to TMC's campaigns since 2019, including their 2021 assembly election success.

Opposition voices in West Bengal, such as Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, CPM's Mohammad Salim, and Congress's Shubhankar Sarkar, questioned the appropriateness of Banerjee's actions. The ED has petitioned the Calcutta High Court over the alleged interference, and Jain's family has lodged a complaint regarding the removal of items. Both matters are set for hearings, underscoring the intensifying political friction ahead of the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections.

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