New Delhi, Jan 9: Calling it an extraordinary breach of constitutional norms, the BJP on Friday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of interfering with an Enforcement Directorate probe and forcibly removing documents from the site of an ongoing investigation.
Addressing the media, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Banerjee entered a private premises being searched by the ED, argued with investigating officers and took away papers relevant to the case.
“This has never happened before in independent India. A chief minister personally intervenes in a central agency’s probe, with senior police officers accompanying her, and walks away with seized material,” Prasad said.
The BJP leader stressed that the raid was conducted at the premises of a private individual and not at any official or political office linked to the chief minister. “It was neither her house nor her office, nor her party office. Clearly, there was material there which could have implicated her. That fear explains her actions,” he said.
The ED had launched searches at 10 locations across West Bengal in connection with political consultancy firm I-PAC. During the operation, Banerjee visited the residence of I-PAC’s Bengal director Prateek Jain, from where she allegedly exited with a laptop and a green folder.
Prasad accused the chief minister of repeatedly obstructing investigations in the state. Referring to past cases, including an anti-sexual assault probe in Sandeshkhali, he said such interventions had become a pattern.
“At times she sits in protest in favour of the accused, at times her MPs block proceedings. What kind of governance is this?” he asked.
The BJP said Banerjee’s actions amounted to grave offences under the law. “She has committed serious penal violations, and accountability is inevitable,” Prasad said.
Predicting political consequences, he added, “In the 2026 Assembly elections, the people of West Bengal will judge her conduct. They will not forget.”
