The political temperature in West Bengal has soared following raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on offices linked to the political consultancy firm I-PAC. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), a major client of I-PAC, has launched a fierce counterattack, with its Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale questioning the timing of the action just weeks before the crucial state Assembly elections.
Questioning the ED's Sudden 'Awakening'
In an exclusive conversation, Saket Gokhale challenged the central agency's motives. He pointed out that the ED's statement linked the alleged financial transactions under scrutiny to the 2022 Goa Assembly elections. "We're in January 2025 with less than two months to go for the Bengal Assembly elections. Why has the ED suddenly woken up?" Gokhale asked, suggesting a politically motivated move.
He framed the raids as an attempt to access the TMC's privileged electoral strategy. "I-PAC has access to a lot of documents related to the TMC's electoral strategy, campaign strategy, and internal surveys... When the ED gets its hands on election-related documents, we have to safeguard them," the MP stated, explaining the party's aggressive response.
Protest and Allegations of Police Brutality
The controversy escalated on Friday when eight TMC MPs attempted a peaceful protest outside the Union Home Ministry's office at Kartavya Bhavan in New Delhi. The demonstration, however, ended with their detention by the police.
Gokhale described the scene with indignation. "The visuals are very clear about how MPs were dragged and handled brutally... You send the police to drag MPs by the hair and their clothes and detain them. Is this how sitting MPs are treated in the capital of India?" He contrasted this treatment with the intended peaceful nature of their protest aimed at Home Minister Amit Shah's office.
Legal Countermeasures and Political Standoffs
On the legal front, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has lodged complaints leading to FIRs being filed against ED officials and CAPF personnel. Defending this action, Gokhale said, "The CM, like any ordinary citizen, is filing an FIR because she was aggrieved as her party's confidential documents were being taken."
He also justified the intervention of the Bengal police during the ED raids, calling the agency's search "illegal" and alleging procedural lapses in seizing electronic devices. "If someone is carrying out something illegal, the police are bound to intervene," he argued.
When confronted with allegations from Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury about I-PAC's involvement in "vote manipulation," Gokhale dismissed them curtly, stating, "I don't think his own party takes him too seriously." He also clarified that while the TMC is part of the INDIA bloc of like-minded parties at the national level, it fights elections alone in West Bengal.
The ED's actions on Thursday, January 9, 2026, at ten locations in Kolkata and Delhi have thus ignited a full-blown political war, setting the stage for a highly charged electoral battle in Bengal.
