The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday leveled serious allegations against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of "file chori" (theft of files) during Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the office of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) in Kolkata. The party has sought the immediate intervention of the state's Governor, C V Ananda Bose.
BJP Delegation Submits Memorandum to Governor
A high-level BJP delegation submitted a detailed memorandum to Governor Bose at the Raj Bhavan. In it, they urged him to direct the state government to provide a comprehensive report on the nature of documents that were allegedly removed from the premises during the search operation on Thursday. The party framed the Chief Minister's actions as a blatant overreach and an assault on the independent functioning of central agencies.
Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad addressed the media, highlighting a critical point. He stated that the ED's search was neither conducted at the CM's residence, her office, nor at any Trinamool Congress (TMC) party office. It was targeted at a private entity, I-PAC, which is a political consultancy. "Despite that," Prasad asserted, "she went inside a private property and snatched the papers."
Blurring Lines Between Party and State, Says BJP
The BJP's memorandum strongly criticized Thursday's events, arguing that the Chief Minister's personal intervention "erased the line between the party and the state." The party accused CM Banerjee of choosing to "confront investigating agencies on the streets instead of seeking remedies through the courts." This, they contended, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the rule of law.
Adding a layer of concern over potential escalation, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, made a pointed remark. He suggested that "the ED officers could have been hurt if they tried to prevent Mamata" from taking the documents. This statement underscores the tense atmosphere that surrounded the raid and the subsequent political drama.
Political Fallout and Governor's Role
The incident has intensified the ongoing political warfare between the ruling TMC and the BJP in West Bengal. By approaching the Governor, the BJP aims to institutionalize its complaint and bring constitutional pressure on the state administration. The ball is now in Governor C V Ananda Bose's court to decide on the next steps, including whether to formally seek the report from the Mamata Banerjee government as requested.
This episode marks another flashpoint in the series of confrontations between central agencies and the West Bengal government, with the I-PAC raid becoming a new battleground over propriety, jurisdiction, and political conduct. The allegations of "file chori" are likely to dominate the political discourse in the state in the coming days.
