Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 8 : There was high drama at the officices of Political consultants IPAC in Kolkata after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached the premises even as the Enforcement Directorate was conducting searches in connected with an alleged fake government job scam.
Banerjee questioned the agency's actions. She alleged that the ED had confiscated party-related materials, including hard disks and candidate lists, and accused the Home Minister of misusing central agencies.
"Is it the duty of the ED, Amit Shah to collect the party's hard disk, candidate list?... The nasty, naughty Home Minister who cannot protect the country is taking away all my party documents," Mamata Banerjee said while speaking to reporters.
The Chief Minister further warned that similar actions against the BJP would provoke strong reactions, and alleged that the ruling party at the Centre was collecting information on the Trinamool Congress ahead of the upcoming West Bengal elections.
She also claimed that voter names were being deleted from the state's electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
"What will be the result if I raid the BJP party office? On one side, they are deleting the names of all the voters by carrying out the SIR in West Bengal...Because of the elections, they are collecting all the information about my party," CM Mamata added.
The Enforcement Directorate has been carrying out searches at 15 locations across the country as part of its probe into a fake government job scam in West Bengal, allegedly involving an organised network that duped candidates by offering fraudulent appointments.
Earlier on January 5, Mamata Banerjee launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging large-scale harassment of voters and warning that her government would take legal steps, including approaching the Supreme Court, to protect people's rights.
Addressing a public meeting at Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas district, Banerjee claimed that around 54 lakh names had been deleted from the voter lists in the district alone. She alleged that artificial intelligence was being misused to remove names and accused the Election Commission of functioning like a "WhatsApp Commission".
In a direct personal jibe, the Chief Minister referred to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as "Vanish Kumar", warning that if people's rights were made to "vanish", those responsible would face consequences. She asserted that there would be "no detention camps in West Bengal" and said she would challenge any such move legally.
West Bengal is set to hold elections in the first half of this year.