The political temperature in West Bengal soared on Sunday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a major protest in Kolkata, demanding the arrest of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar. The protest was triggered by allegations that they obstructed Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the offices of the political consultancy firm I-PAC.
BJP's March and Key Allegations
Leading the charge, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, spearheaded a protest march. The BJP's core allegation is that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and top police officials personally intervened during the ED's search operations at I-PAC's Salt Lake office and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain, two days prior. The party claims this action was a deliberate attempt to obstruct a federal agency's investigation.
In a sharp escalation, Suvendu Adhikari took to social media later in the day to publicly name eleven officers of the Kolkata Police and demand their immediate suspension. He accused them of betraying their oath by accompanying the Chief Minister during her visit to the raid locations.
The Eleven Named Officers and Harsh Accusations
In his post, Adhikari listed the following officers: Priyabrata Roy (IPS), Shantanu Sinha Biswas, Inspector Ayan Bhoumik, Inspector Bijitaswa Rout, Sub-Inspector Ruhul Amin Ali Sha, S-I Sudip Banerjee, S-I Leena Bhattacharya, ASI Mrityunjay Roy, ASI Saikat Biswas, ASI Mahadeb Kabiraj, and ASI Soumen Biswas.
His language was severe, alleging these officers had "turned the police force into Mamata Banerjee’s personal goon squad." He further claimed they were "sneaking out files to cover up more crimes" and were guarding the residences of the CM and her nephew round-the-clock out of fear of the ED and CBI.
National BJP Leaders Amplify the Attack
The issue resonated in the national capital as well. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad addressed a press conference in Delhi, questioning the very nature of I-PAC's operations. He cast doubt on whether I-PAC was merely a political consultancy or a front for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to park "unaccounted" and "slush" money.
Prasad pointedly asked, "Your meeting schedules are also a matter of public knowledge. Then what kind of a secret was there? What secret strategy was being made there? What are you hiding Mamataji?" He also condemned the presence of the state police chief during the incident, asserting that the entire police infrastructure in Bengal had become a "weapon" in Banerjee's hands for "shameful, unconstitutional and undemocratic" activities.
Adhikari's Political Challenge
Amidst these allegations, Suvendu Adhikari, who was once Banerjee's protege before switching to the BJP, issued a direct political challenge. He asserted that it was his responsibility to defeat the Chief Minister politically and vowed to contest against her from her Bhawanipur seat in south Kolkata in the future. This declaration gains significance from their 2021 electoral history, where Adhikari defeated Banerjee in Nandigram by 1,956 votes, though she later won the Bhawanipur by-poll by a massive margin of over 56,000 votes.
The BJP's aggressive posture, combining street protests, serious allegations against police officials, and a direct political challenge, marks a significant intensification of the ongoing political battle in West Bengal, with the I-PAC raids serving as the latest flashpoint.
