NEW DELHI: The pre-dawn raid on the residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has ignited a political firestorm, with the party accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of engaging in political vendetta.
No Seizures Found During Search
Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra claimed that the 90-minute search operation yielded no seizures. Taking to social media platform X, she posted: "So @KolkataPolice arrives at 3 am at @abhishekaitc's home, breaks open the door and searches for 90 minutes only to find nothing. Zero seizure, 100% vendetta. BJP will try everything. Intimidation and money will not make you win in 2029." Moitra shared a photo purportedly showing a Kolkata Police note on the search operation.
Party Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose also shared the same image and accused the BJP of a disgraceful attack on an opposition leader. In a post on X, she detailed the sequence of events: "3 AM Saturday June 13. Police arrive at Abhishek Banerjee's @abhishekaitc's Kalighat residence in Kolkata. 5 AM: Disaster Management team called in to break open locks. 6:30 AM: Search begins, from second floor to terrace, lasting 90 minutes. Outcome? Seizure report says: NIL. No evidence. No wrongdoing. NOTHING." She further added: "Just political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture. Operation Lotus is targeting every leader who refuses to surrender to the BJP's diktat. Disgraceful attack on an opposition leader. VINDICTIVE, CONNIVING, s*****g LOW-LIFE tactics. SHAME."
Details of the Raid
The raid was conducted by a large contingent of police accompanied by central forces, in connection with a case filed at a police station in Paschim Medinipur district, as confirmed by a senior officer. According to police sources, officers arrived at Abhishek Banerjee's residence and called out to the occupants. When there was no response, the team allegedly broke open locks to enter the premises and carried out a search that continued for several hours.
TMC supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the spot after learning about the operation. Abhishek Banerjee is her nephew.
Context of the Raid
The development comes barely two days after the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) questioned Abhishek Banerjee in connection with an alleged forged-signature case linked to the West Bengal assembly. This is amid a series of fresh summons issued to him by multiple investigating agencies.
The incident has added to the ongoing political tensions in the state, with the TMC accusing the BJP of using central agencies to target opposition leaders ahead of the 2029 general elections.
