"Amit Shah - The 'Nasty, Naughty' Home Minister, who cannot protect the country", says Mamata from Pratik Jain's home after ED raid

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Central Government on Thursday, accusing it of using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to carry out a "political vendetta" ahead of the elections. Her reaction follows ED searches at several locations, including the residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain. Banerjee questioned the motives behind the raids, alleging that central agencies are being misused to collect her party’s sensitive data, hard disks, and candidate lists under the guise of an investigation.

The Chief Minister did not mince words while targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, calling the actions "nasty" and questioning if it was the duty of the Home Ministry to seize political documents. She also linked these raids to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state, alleging that voter names are being deliberately deleted to influence the upcoming electoral process. "They are collecting all the information about my party because of the elections," she claimed, expressing outrage over the perceived interference in democratic functioning.

The BJP was quick to retaliate, with Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari terming the Chief Minister's actions as a "direct interference" in a central agency's probe. Adhikari criticized Banerjee for visiting Pratik Jain’s Loudon Street residence while the search was still underway. He alleged that her presence, accompanied by the Kolkata Police Commissioner, was both "unethical" and "improper," and called for the ED to take formal action against her for violating constitutional norms during an active investigation.