Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra was detained by Delhi Police on Friday after leading a protest outside the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The demonstration was against the Enforcement Directorate's searches at the Kolkata offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC, which works with the TMC.
Detention and Allegations of Political Vendetta
Following her detention, Moitra launched a sharp attack on the central government. She accused the ruling BJP of misusing central investigative agencies to target political opponents and steal sensitive electoral information. "You have seen how the government is using the ED as their agency to steal information, election strategy of their political opponents," she stated.
Moitra claimed the ED action was nothing short of "dacoity of information." She questioned the timing of the raids, linking them to an old coal scam, and asserted that the people of Bengal would deliver a fitting response. Other TMC MPs, including Derek O'Brien, were also taken away by the police during the protest.
Reactions from TMC and BJP Leaders
On social media platform X, Moitra alleged the use of force during the detention, posting, "Amit Shah’s cops dragging us in police vans to police station." She invoked the image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a "Bengal Tigress" who would fight back. Fellow TMC MP Kirti Azad, also detained, reported that no FIR was registered and no senior officer was available to explain their detention, raising concerns about the treatment of common citizens.
In a strong defence, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad justified the ED's actions. Addressing a press conference, he compared the raids to the investigation in the fodder scam case involving RJD's Lalu Prasad Yadav. "What link does Mamata have with that firm?" Prasad asked, questioning the TMC chief's connection to I-PAC.
Legal Move and Broader Political Clash
The political confrontation escalated as the TMC moved the Calcutta High Court on Friday. The party sought restrictions on the "misuse and dissemination" of documents and data seized during the ED searches. The party has labelled the raids as politically motivated, intended to intimidate them ahead of the crucial West Bengal Assembly elections.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led the charge, alleging that party documents, hard disks, and sensitive data were being seized under the pretext of an investigation. She directly challenged Home Minister Amit Shah, asking if it was the ED's duty to collect a party's internal data. "What will be the result if I raid the BJP party office?" Banerjee questioned.
She further connected the agency's action to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in West Bengal, alleging a coordinated effort to delete voter names and gather party intelligence. Banerjee dared the BJP to engage in a political battle instead of using central agencies.
The ED's searches on Thursday targeted multiple locations linked to I-PAC in Kolkata, including the residence of its chief, Pratik Jain. The firm is known for managing significant parts of the TMC's IT and media strategy.
