In a dramatic escalation of tensions, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to the streets of Kolkata on Friday, leading a massive protest march just hours after personally lodging two police complaints against officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The move came in direct response to raids conducted by the central agency a day earlier.
March and FIRs: A Dual Protest
Mamata Banerjee walked approximately six kilometers from the Jadavpur 8B bus stand to Hazra crossing, accompanied by thousands of Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters. This public demonstration occurred less than ten hours after she filed two First Information Reports (FIRs) at Kolkata police stations against unidentified ED officials.
The FIRs, which are believed to be the first ever lodged by a sitting chief minister in Bengal, accuse the agency's personnel of serious offences. The charges include theft, criminal trespass, criminal intimidation, and tampering with electronic data under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
The Trigger: Raids on Political Consultancy
The chain of events began on Thursday when the ED conducted searches at two locations in connection with an alleged coal scam. The targets were the Salt Lake office of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), a consultancy that works for TMC, and the Loudon Street residence of its director, Pratik Jain.
In a bold move, Chief Minister Banerjee arrived at Jain's home while the search was ongoing. She reportedly took away a green folder, a hard disk, and a phone from the premises before proceeding to the I-PAC office at the Godrej Waterside building in Sector V, where she drafted the initial complaints.
"Right to Defend": CM's Justification and Allegations
Addressing a rally at the end of the two-hour march, Banerjee defended her actions. "What I did was in the capacity of Trinamool chairperson. I did nothing wrong," she stated. "If you come to kill me, I have every right to defend myself. Why did you come like a thief?"
She alleged that the ED officials had been at the location since 6 AM and had "stolen" sensitive information, including data related to SIR (Survey, Intelligence, and Research), voter details, and BLA (Booth Level Agent) names and phone numbers during their five-hour search before her arrival at 11:30 AM.
Banerjee also launched a broadside against the BJP, highlighting that I-PAC had previously worked for the party when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014. "We have just one such consultancy firm. They (BJP) have so many, yet they have declared a war," she claimed.
In explosive allegations, she linked Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari to the coal scam, suggesting a flow of funds. Adhikari responded by serving a legal notice to the CM, demanding she provide evidence within 72 hours or face defamation suits.
Police Investigation and Political Fallout
The Kolkata Police have initiated an investigation based on the CM's complaints. Badana Varun Chandra Sekhar, Joint Commissioner of Bidhannagar City Police, confirmed that CCTV footage from Pratik Jain's residence had been collected and that the probe was in a nascent stage.
The first FIR was registered at Shakespeare Sarani police station based on an emailed complaint from Banerjee on Thursday night. The second was lodged at the Electronic Complex police station in Sector V on Friday.
This incident marks a significant new low in the ongoing feud between the TMC government in West Bengal and the BJP-led central government, with the ED's actions becoming a major flashpoint. The CM's direct involvement in both the legal and street-level protest underscores the high-stakes political battle unfolding in the state.
