‘Next stop Delhi’: Mamata warns of EC showdown after ED raids, SIR row
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once again hit the streets ahead of the upcoming elections, this time protesting against the Enforcement Directorate’s raid on the I-PAC office, the alleged harassment during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, and torture of Bengali migrant workers, among other issues.
A day after an apparent standoff between Banerjee and the ED over raids at two locations linked to the TMC’s political consultancy firm, I-PAC—the Loudon Street residence of its co-founder, Pratik Jain, and the firm’s office in Salt Lake Sector V—Banerjee on Friday led a march from Jadavpur to Hazra, asserting that “the road is the only way” and invoking her long-standing image as a fighter.
Addressing the massive rally at its culmination point, Banerjee accused the Centre of misusing Central agencies for political ends and raised concerns over the SIR process, alleging that vulnerable citizens were being harassed and forced to stand in long queues during hearings, while warning that “if this continues, our next destination will be the Election Commission in Delhi”.
Walking from the 8B Bus Stand area to Hazra More in south Kolkata, a route long associated with her street politics, Banerjee transformed the ED action into a show of political mobilisation, signalling that the ruling party intends to fight the battle not only in courtrooms but also on the streets.
Flanked by senior party functionaries, television and film personalities, Banerjee led a sloganeering crowd that charged the BJP-led Centre with misusing Central agencies for political vendetta and vowed to defeat the saffron camp in the polls to the 294-member Assembly, around three to four months away.
As the street mobilisation unfolded, the confrontation simultaneously spilled into the judicial arena, with the Calcutta High Court adjourning till January 14 the hearing on petitions related to the ED’s search and seizure operations at sites linked to I-PAC, citing unmanageable chaos inside the courtroom.
The escalation widened further after Banerjee lodged police complaints against the ED in connection with the raids, prompting the Kolkata and Bidhannagar Police to register FIRs and initiate investigations, extending the standoff to police stations as well.
The TMC also approached the High Court seeking restraint on the “misuse and dissemination” of documents seized during the raids, alleging that the ED had taken away sensitive and confidential political data related to campaign strategy, internal assessments, and electoral roll-related information for the 2026 Assembly elections, with no nexus to any scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
At the protest march, reiterating her claim that the BJP was using Central agencies for political ends, Banerjee told the crowd that these agencies had been taken over by the Centre and misused to win elections in some states, and asserted that this would not be allowed to happen in Bengal. Following the ED raid on the I-PAC office on Thursday, Banerjee claimed the action was intended to disrupt the Trinamool Congress’s political documents, including strategy papers and candidate lists.
She said she intervened and returned with bundles of files, hard disks, asserting that it was her responsibility as TMC chairperson to step in and safeguard the party’s documents. Referring to the incident, Banerjee said she had done nothing wrong,
The ED raid was conducted in connection with the coal smuggling case registered in 2020.
Targeting the BJP further, Banerjee alleged that money from the alleged coal scam was routed to Union Home minister Amit Shah through Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
She claimed to possess sufficient evidence to back her allegations. Questioning the impartiality of central agencies, she accused the BJP of using them to target political opponents.
“The elections in Bihar, Delhi, and Odisha were won this way. Bengal will not follow this strategy,” she warned.
On the SIR issue, Banerjee issued a stern warning, declaring: “If you try to snatch the rights of our voters, they will snatch your right.”
Amid loud applause, she alleged that the BJP-led Central government had entrusted the Election Commission with the task of removing nearly 1.5 crore names from the voters’ list under the guise of the Special Intensive Revision process, calling it a calculated and discriminatory move ahead of the elections.The TMC supremo claimed that the process was being selectively enforced to intimidate and disenfranchise voters perceived to be opposed to the BJP.
Banerjee further alleged that ordinary citizens—particularly migrant workers, the elderly, pregnant women and people from economically weaker sections—were being subjected to undue harassment, forced to appear repeatedly at hearings and made to stand in long queues for hours. Calling the exercise “inhuman and politically motivated,” she accused the Centre of attempting to undermine democratic rights through bureaucratic pressure. Stressing that voting is a constitutional right, Banerjee asserted that no authority has the power to strip citizens of that right through fear or intimidation.
Expressing confidence ahead of the elections, Banerjee urged voters to remain vigilant. “Even if you have to go four times to enrol your name, do not let them take away your voting rights,” she said.
