Quote:
“ What I did yesterday, I did as the TMC chairperson. I have done nothing illegal… They tried to steal my party’s data… If someone comes to kill me, don’t I have the right to self-defence?”
“If someone tries to hit me politically, I get politically rejuvenated.” – Mamata Banerjee, WB CM
Kolkata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took to the streets of Kolkata to protest the Enforcement Directorate’s searches at the residence and offices of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain. Leading a rally with senior Trinamool Congress leaders, ministers, MPs, MLAs and party supporters, Banerjee accused the BJP-led Centre of using central agencies to target political opponents ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
The march began from the 8B Bus Stand area, with supporters raising slogans against what they described as political vendetta. The protest followed Banerjee’s visit a day earlier to Jain’s Loudon Street residence while ED officials were conducting searches. The chief minister alleged that the agency attempted to seize TMC’s internal documents, digital devices and confidential organisational data unrelated to any financial probe.
Banerjee also strongly criticised the detention of TMC MPs during a protest outside the Union Home Ministry in Delhi, calling it “shameful and unacceptable” and an attack on democratic rights. In a post on X, she said dragging elected representatives for exercising their right to protest reflected “arrogance in uniform,” adding that India was a democracy, not the BJP’s private property.
Accusing the BJP of double standards, Banerjee said opposition leaders were detained and humiliated while ruling party leaders enjoyed privileges during protests. She asserted that dignity, dissent and mutual respect between institutions were essential to democracy.
ED has moved the Calcutta High Court seeking a CBI probe, alleging obstruction of its searches and misuse of state machinery, including involvement of senior political and police officials.
