Last Updated on January 8, 2026 8:03 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
By Shankar Jalan in Kolkata
Amid biting cold, the political atmosphere in West Bengal suddenly heated up on Thursday (January 8) following a major raid by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). While the ED described the operation as a large-scale crackdown, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reacted sharply, accusing Home Minister Amit Shah for the raids.
As soon as Mamata Banerjee learned that ED officials had reached the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC to conduct searches, she herself rushed to the spot. The ED has alleged that the Chief Minister obstructed the raid, while Mamata countered the claim by saying the action was carried out at the behest of the Central government. This is not the first time she has attempted to stop central agencies from conducting raids. Earlier, she had similarly intervened when central agencies went to raid the residence of then Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar.
The biggest question now is why a single ED raid angered Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee so deeply that she took to the streets herself and even called upon Trinamool supporters to protest across the state. The ED has filed a complaint against her conduct and moved the High Court, where the matter will be heard on Friday (January 9).
After spending 45 minutes at the I-PAC office in the Kolkata suburb of Salt Lake, Mamata Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to control Union home minister Amit Shah.
“Amit Shah, if you want to win Bengal, fight politically, contest the polls. What is this? Why did you carry out a raid in the office of our party’s IT cell? Why did you allow an app that lacks credibility to delete the names of 58 lakh voters in Bengal?” Mamata asked, addressing the media.
Political circles are abuzz with speculation over what those files contained which ED was searching. Were they linked to some major secret concerning the Trinamool Congress’s strategy for the 2026 elections? Or did they include names of candidates that Mamata Banerjee wanted to keep confidential? In a sharp attack, Mamata directly targeted the Union Home Minister, giving him a label that quickly sparked intense debate on social media.
Holding Union Home Minister Amit Shah directly responsible for the raid, Mamata Banerjee called him a “naughty” Home Minister. She said that a Home Minister who cannot ensure the country’s security is now busy stealing documents of an opposition party. She questioned whether it had now become the ED’s job to seize political strategies, candidate lists, and future plans of a party. According to Mamata, the Central government is misusing investigative agencies to access Trinamool’s internal data in order to weaken the party ahead of elections. She described the episode as a direct assault on democracy.
Speaking to journalists outside the Salt Lake office, Mamata Banerjee further asserted that the ED’s objective was not financial investigation but political surveillance. She alleged that her IT and strategy teams were targeted to probe into candidate lists and electoral plans.
She also drew a parallel with alleged manipulation of voter lists in states like Uttar Pradesh, claiming that while names are being removed from electoral rolls there, efforts are underway in West Bengal to decode her party’s strength through documents.
I-PAC is the firm responsible for devising Mamata Banerjee’s electoral strategy. The ED conducted raids at its Salt Lake office as well as at the residence of Prateek Jain, a key member of Mamata’s team. As soon as news of the raid reached her, Mamata Banerjee was furious. She arrived at the spot herself, and what followed resembled a dramatic scene straight out of a film. Mamata alleged that the ED had come to “steal” crucial party documents. In full public view, several green files were taken out of the office and securely placed in a vehicle belonging to the Chief Minister’s convoy.
Now, everyone is asking the same question: what exactly was in those files that compelled the Chief Minister herself to step in to protect them?
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this incident has marked the beginning of a new political battle in West Bengal.