The Aryavarth Express
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday issued a direct challenge to the BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, daring them to “come and fight democratically” in the state, amid escalating tensions between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP ahead of upcoming elections.
Her remarks came following an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid at the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm I-PAC in connection with the alleged fake government job scam. The Chief Minister visited the I-PAC office during the raid and accused the central agency of unlawfully seizing party-related data, laptops, mobile phones and strategic documents.
“If Amit Shah wants Bengal, then come, fight democratically, and win. Everyone must know what kind of operation has been carried out. Starting at 6 am, they arrived and seized the party’s data, laptops, strategies and mobile phones. Their forensic experts transferred all the data. I believe this is a crime,” Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister asserted that I-PAC functions as an authorised team of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and is not a private entity. She alleged that the ED confiscated sensitive political documents, including data related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“This is not a private organisation. This is the authorised team of the All India Trinamool Congress. They looted all papers and data, including a large amount of information related to SIR. We are a registered political party and regularly submit income tax returns. If the ED needs information, it can obtain it from the Income Tax Department. Why was there a raid on our party’s IT department?” she asked.
Banerjee also raised concerns over alleged large-scale deletion of voter names during the SIR process, claiming that 54 lakh names were removed from electoral rolls under the label of “logical discrepancies.” She alleged that women and young voters were disproportionately affected and said even economist Amartya Sen had received a notice.
“In the name of SIR, they have deleted many names from the voter list. Even Amartya Sen was sent a notice. Why have the names of maximum women voters and youth been deleted? In the name of ‘logical discrepancy,’ they have removed 54 lakh names,” she said.
Escalating her attack, Banerjee further alleged that 72 people had died due to stress and consequences linked to the SIR process and held the BJP responsible.
“Because of the stress and consequences of SIR, 72 people have died. Who is responsible for their deaths? The BJP is a killer party,” she alleged.
Meanwhile, ED sources rejected the allegations, stating that the raids are not politically motivated and are being conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures. The agency claimed that certain individuals, including constitutional functionaries, had allegedly intruded into two of the ten premises being searched, misused their position and forcibly took away documents.
The ED said the nationwide searches are part of an investigation into an organised fake government job scam that allegedly duped aspirants by offering fraudulent appointments across multiple government departments.
The search operations began early Thursday morning at 15 locations across the country. The ED’s Patna Zonal Office is conducting searches at three locations in Bihar, two in West Bengal, four in Kerala, one each in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, and four in Uttar Pradesh, in coordination with state police forces.
The locations include Muzaffarpur (one) and Motihari (two) in Bihar; Kolkata (two) in West Bengal; Ernakulam, Pandalam, Adoor and Kodur (one each) in Kerala; Chennai (one) in Tamil Nadu; Rajkot (one) in Gujarat; and Gorakhpur (two), Prayagraj (one) and Lucknow (one) in Uttar Pradesh.
