West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of attempting to seize sensitive internal data of the Trinamool Congress during a raid at the residence of I-PAC chief Prateek Jain. She alleged that ED officials sought access to hard disks, confidential documents, and strategic party information, claiming that the search was politically motivated rather than connected to any financial investigation. The operation, she said, targeted materials central to the party’s organizational functioning, raising serious concerns about the misuse of investigative powers for political purposes.

Emerging from Jain’s Loudon Street residence, Banerjee described the ongoing operation as unconstitutional and a deliberate act of intimidation. She emphasized that I-PAC, the consultancy firm managing TMC’s IT cell, had no direct involvement in financial matters under ED scrutiny. Banerjee highlighted that the officials’ efforts to acquire the party’s internal strategy documents, candidate lists, and sensitive digital material had no legal basis and amounted to an overreach of authority, further intensifying political tensions in the state.

“This is not law enforcement; this is political vendetta,” Banerjee said, launching a sharp attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah. She criticized the agency for what she called an attempt to undermine the democratic functioning of the party, stressing that the seizure of TMC’s internal data was unrelated to any lawful probe. The chief minister questioned whether the ED’s mandate included collecting political strategies and plans, describing the actions as intimidation intended to destabilize her party ahead of upcoming electoral challenges.

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In response, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, termed Banerjee’s visit to Jain’s residence during the ongoing raid as “unconstitutional interference” in a central agency investigation. He criticized the chief minister and Kolkata police commissioner for their involvement, calling it unethical and a violation of legal protocol. Adhikari demanded that the ED take appropriate steps against what he described as a deliberate obstruction of justice, further fueling the political dispute surrounding the operation.

The Enforcement Directorate has not issued any official statement regarding the nature or scope of the raid, leaving questions about the ongoing investigation unresolved. Searches were also reported at I-PAC’s offices, deepening concerns over the potential politicization of law enforcement actions. The controversy has sparked a wider debate over the boundaries of central agencies’ powers and their role in politically sensitive cases, highlighting tensions between state leadership and central authorities.

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