The Kolkata city experienced high political drama on Thursday when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the home of Prateek Jain, the chief of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) after an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid. Banerjee claimed that central agency was trying to steal hard disk, internal documents and sensitive information of her party Trinamool congress (TMC).
The officials reported that both the residence and I-PAC office of Jain in the city were searched by the ED. I-PAC has been synonymous with the ruling TMC offering political consultancy services and has allegedly controlled major areas of the party in the IT and media sphere. The raids provoked strong counteractions on the part of the chief minister, who went to the house of Jain as the police were patrolling around with a large force and the media covering the news.
Videos taken on the social media depicted Mamata Banerjee in a frenzied state wandering through the press-filmed crowds, giving brief remarks to her supporters but evading interviews with the press. She harshly condemned the ED action, saying that it was politically motivated and unconstitutional and that the central agencies were being abused to discriminate on opposition parties in the run up to some very important political events.
Banerjee said that Jain, described by her as the IT chief of the TMC, was simply a target because he joined the party. She claimed that the raid was done to obtain secret party information and to intimidate individuals working with the TMC. This is an assault on democracy and federalism which she claimed that her government would not allow itself to be pressured by the Centre.
The ED has not given a more specific statement with regard to the character or extent of the searches. But according to the sources, the raids were an extension of an on-going investigation and they were carried out as per the normal legal practices.
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