ED tried to seize TMC's data during raid at I-PAC chief's home: CM Mamata
.webp)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that ED officials were attempting to seize TMC's hard disks, internal documents and sensitive organisational data during a search operation at the residence of I-PAC chief Prateek Jain here.
She described the raid at the residence of Jain as politically motivated and unconstitutional.
I-PAC also looks after the IT cell of the Trinamool Congress.
Banerjee made the allegations after emerging from Jain's Loudon Street residence here, where searches have been underway since Thursday morning.
Search operations were also being conducted at the office of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), the consultancy firm Jain heads.
Claiming that the ED was trying to access the ruling party's internal strategy, candidate lists and confidential digital material, Banerjee said such information had no link to any financial probe.
They are trying to take our party's hard disk, strategy and plans. Is it the duty of the ED to collect political parties' documents? the chief minister asked, launching a sharp attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Calling the exercise an act of intimidation, Banerjee said, This is not law enforcement, this is political vendetta. The home minister is behaving like the nastiest home minister, not someone who protects the country.
Meanwhile, leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari termed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit to IPAC chief Pratik Jain's house during the ED raid on Thursday as "unconstitutional and interference" in the central agency's probe.
He said that the ED should take steps against the chief minister.
"I feel that the chief minister and the Kolkata police commissioner's visit was unethical, unconstitutional and direct interference in the central agency's investigation," Adhikari told reporters soon after their visit to Jain's residence at Loudon Street here, as an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid was going on there.
The exact nature of the searches and details of the case being probed were not immediately clear. There was no official statement from the ED or the I-PAC till the filing of this report.
Other Latest News
.webp)
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi government in relation to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking strict enforcement of e-rickshaw regulations in the national capital, Bar and Bench reported.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia was hearing a petition filed by Manish Parashar against the Delhi government, its Transport Department, Delhi Traffic Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
.webp)
India's finance ministry plans to scrap five-year-old restrictions on Chinese firms bidding for government contracts, two sources said, as New Delhi seeks to revive commercial ties in an environment of eased diplomatic and border tensions.
The curbs, imposed in 2020 after a deadly clash between the countries' troops, required Chinese bidders to register with an Indian government committee and obtain political and security clearances.
.webp)
India's markets regulator has accused a Bank of America (BofA) unit of violating its insider trading rules and breaking internal "Chinese walls" in connection with a 2024 share sale, a notice showed.
The notice followed a Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) investigation into the conduct of the bank's domestic securities unit in managing a March 2024 stock sale of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management (ABSL AMC).
.webp)
US President Donald Trump has purportedly backed a Bill that threatens to raise tariffs on countries buying energy products, including oil, from Russia, to at least 500 per cent. If approved, the Bill will add pressure on countries like India, China and Brazil which continue to purchase Russian oil despite US sanctions.
.webp)
The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), in a joint operation with the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Range, carried out a major crackdown on trans-border drug smuggling in Punjab on Tuesday, leading to the recovery of 19.980 kg of heroin and the arrest of four accused, including the key operative managing the supply chain.
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
