BHAGALPUR: A fresh political firestorm erupted on Saturday as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey made a sensational claim regarding West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent confrontation with the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Dubey asserted that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo is not perturbed by the central agency's actions but by a purported "CD" that he claims could terminate her political career.
The Provocative Allegation from Bhagalpur
Speaking to the news agency ANI, Nishikant Dubey launched a sharp attack. He stated that Mamata Banerjee and her party are not troubled by the ED but by "their CD." Dubey emphasized, "Their CD is very dangerous, perhaps it could end their entire political career, so they are not troubled by ED but by CD." While Dubey did not elaborate on the contents of this alleged CD, his comments have added a new layer of intrigue to the ongoing tussle between the TMC and central agencies.
The Raid and Mamata's On-Site Intervention
Dubey's remarks directly reference the high-voltage incident that unfolded on Friday when ED officials conducted searches at the Kolkata offices of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), a political consultancy firm. The raid was connected to the ongoing investigation into a coal smuggling case.
The situation escalated when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at the scene. She later questioned the legality of the raid, accusing the agency of seizing party-related materials. "Is it the duty of the ED, Amit Shah, to collect the party's hard disk, candidate list?" Banerjee asked reporters. She alleged that the agency seized hard disks, candidate lists, strategic documents, laptops, and mobile phones from the I-PAC office starting at 6:00 am.
"The nasty, naughty Home Minister who cannot protect the country is taking away all my party documents," she charged, directly targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Banerjee labeled the seizure of political strategy data as a "crime."
ED's Counter-Allegation and TMC's Delhi Protest
The Enforcement Directorate issued a strong counter-statement, accusing the West Bengal Chief Minister of obstructing their operation. The ED claimed Mamata Banerjee entered the residential premises of I-PAC director Prateek Jain during the search and took away "key evidence," including physical documents and electronic devices.
The agency further alleged that her convoy then proceeded to the I-PAC office, where "Ms Banerjee, her aides and the state police personnel forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence." This version of events paints a picture of direct physical interference with a central agency's operation.
In retaliation, TMC MPs took the protest to the national capital. On Friday, they staged a demonstration at the Home Ministry in Delhi, raising slogans against Amit Shah and alleging blatant misuse of investigative agencies for political vendetta. The protest led to the detention of the TMC MPs by Delhi Police, who subsequently took them to the Parliament Street police station.
The clash underscores the deepening rift between the BJP-led central government and the TMC government in West Bengal, with federal agencies becoming a primary battleground. Nishikant Dubey's "CD" comment is likely to fuel further political rhetoric and speculation in the coming days.
