West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to hit the streets on January 9 to protest what the Trinamool Congress has described as the “political misuse” of central agencies, following Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office in Kolkata, party sources said.
The announcement comes a day after Banerjee visited the residence of Pratik Jain, co-founder and director of I-PAC, while the ED was conducting searches there in connection with a money laundering probe.
The chief minister also briefly went to the I-PAC office in Kolkata during the raid, drawing sharp reactions from the probe agency.
The ED carried out searches at 10 locations on Thursday, six in West Bengal and four in Delhi, including I-PAC offices and Jain’s residence, as part of its investigation into alleged financial irregularities. Following Banerjee’s visit, the ED approached the Calcutta High Court, alleging interference in its probe.
For now, the ED has concluded its search operations and left the I-PAC office, even as political tensions continue to escalate.
