New Delhi, Jan 9: The BJP on Friday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of obstructing an ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation after she reportedly entered a raid location, confronted officials and walked away with documents, prompting the party to ask what information she was trying to conceal.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad described the episode as unprecedented and alleged that the chief minister’s conduct amounted to serious penal offences.
“A sitting chief minister walks into the site of an ED investigation, senior state police officers accompany her, she argues with the officers, snatches papers and leaves. The raid was not at her residence, office or party headquarters but at the premises of a private entity,” Prasad said at a press briefing. “What was so sensitive at that location that she feared its seizure?”
According to the BJP, the ED was conducting raids at 10 locations linked to political consultancy firm I-PAC in West Bengal on Thursday. During the operation, Banerjee visited the residence of the firm’s Bengal director, Prateek Jain, and allegedly left the premises carrying a green folder and a laptop.
Prasad termed the chief minister’s actions “unethical, irresponsible and unconstitutional,” alleging that she has a history of interfering in investigations involving politically sensitive cases.
“Sometimes she sits on dharna in support of the accused, sometimes her MPs protest against probes. This pattern keeps repeating in cases of corruption and sexual assault,” he said, referring to earlier controversies including the Sandeshkhali case.
The BJP asserted that Banerjee would be held accountable under the law. “She is guilty of serious penal offences. The law will take its course,” Prasad said.
He added that voters would assess her record in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. “The basket of her sins is full. The people of Bengal will size her up,” he said.
