A political confrontation between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Centre intensified on Friday after several TMC Members of Parliament staged a protest outside the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. The protest came a day after Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids were carried out at the residence and office of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain in Kolkata.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee supported the protest by her party MPs and alleged that the ED action was driven by political vendetta. She accused the Centre of misusing central investigative agencies to target opposition parties, particularly ahead of elections.

According to reports, eight All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MPs reached Amit Shah’s office on Friday morning and staged a dharna to protest the ED searches conducted a day earlier. The MPs were holding placards and raising slogans against the central government. Police later detained the protesting MPs.

Those who led the protest included Mahua Moitra, Derek O’Brien, Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar, Saket Gokhale, Pratima Mondal, Kirti Azad and Dr Sharmila Sarkar. Visuals from the protest site showed MPs holding placards that read, “Bengal rejects Modi-Shah’s dirty politics.”

The protesting MPs accused the Centre of using central agencies like the ED to harass opposition parties in the run-up to elections, particularly in West Bengal, where Assembly elections are expected in the coming months.

Backing her party MPs, Mamata Banerjee claimed that the ED raids at I-PAC offices were politically motivated. Referring to Pratik Jain as the head of the TMC’s IT cell, she alleged that the agency was attempting to access sensitive party data, including election strategies and internal information.

She said the raids were aimed at stealing crucial party documents and voter-related data. According to Banerjee, such actions by central agencies usually take place just before elections to weaken opposition parties.

Tension escalated further on Thursday when Mamata Banerjee personally arrived at the residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain while ED officials were conducting searches there. Television visuals showed Banerjee brushing past media personnel and security staff as she entered the premises.

According to reports, ED officials and the Chief Minister gave sharply different versions of what happened at the site. The ED accused Banerjee of entering the premises during the raid and removing crucial evidence. On the other hand, Banerjee denied the allegation and claimed that ED officials were seizing important party documents, hard disks and financial records.

Defending her actions, Banerjee questioned the agency’s intentions and said, “If they try to frame me, create false cases or take away our documents, should I not resist?”

Banerjee claimed that ED officials were confiscating hard disks containing details of TMC’s Assembly candidates. She said she intervened to protect party data. She was quoted as saying, “They raided the house of our IT chief and were confiscating party documents and hard disks containing details of our Assembly candidates. I brought them back.”

She further alleged that the agency had taken away all critical data, including voter lists, and claimed that such raids are timed deliberately ahead of elections.

Assembly elections in West Bengal are expected in the coming months, and the TMC has accused the Centre of attempting to influence the electoral process through investigative agencies.

As per reports, the ED action is linked to a money laundering investigation related to an alleged multi-crore coal pilferage scam. However, the TMC leadership maintains that the raids were politically motivated and not part of a genuine investigation.

Escalating her attack, Mamata Banerjee accused the Centre of intimidating opposition parties before elections by misusing central agencies. She referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah as “naughty” and questioned his role as Home Minister.

She said, “This is not law enforcement. Is this how a Home Minister functions unable to protect the country and instead harassing parties before elections?”

Banerjee also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and rein in his Home Minister. She urged the BJP to defeat the TMC through democratic means instead of using investigative agencies.

She warned the Centre, saying, “You are trying to steal our papers, strategies, voter data and Bengal itself. By doing this, the seats you expect to win will drop to zero.”

Visuals from the scene showed confusion and chaos as individuals were seen rushing with files while media cameras crowded the area. Mamata Banerjee was also seen holding documents in a green file while speaking to reporters.

She reiterated her allegation that the ED was attempting to seize sensitive organisational data belonging to the TMC during the searches.

The political standoff between the TMC and the Centre continues to escalate, with both sides accusing each other of wrongdoing, as the state heads towards Assembly elections.