Mamata Banerjee leads protest march against ED action on I-PAC

PTI, KOLKATA, JAN 9, 2026: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday alleged that the ED’s searches at the premises of I-PAC were aimed at “stealing” the TMC’s internal strategy ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, asserting that she had done “nothing wrong” by personally reaching the raid site a day earlier.

In a sharp personal attack in the very opening stretch of her address at a rally here, Mamata accused senior BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, of benefiting from proceeds of the coal scam and claimed she could place evidence in the public domain if required.

Addressing the rally after leading a nearly 10-km-long protest march through the heart of the city, Mamata said she had intervened at the ED search site purely in her capacity as the TMC chairperson, not as the Chief Minister.

“What I did yesterday, I did as the TMC chairperson. I have done nothing illegal,” she said, referring to her unexpected arrival at the I-PAC office and the residence of its India head, Pratik Jain.

The ED on Thursday alleged that the CM entered Jain’s residence during the raid in a money laundering case linked to alleged coal smuggling and took away “key evidence”, including physical documents and electronic devices. The TMC supremo said that the Central agency officials entered the premises at 6am while she reached there around noon. 

"By then, everything could have been stolen. I first thought they had come to ask or see something. Then I realised they are taking away our party's documents, and strategy details. That is why I rushed there," she said. 

I-PAC provides political consultancy to the TMC and looks after the party's IT and media cell."If someone tries to kill me, don't I have the right to defend myself ? If my party doesn't exist, how will I fight for the people," the TMC supremo said. 

Alleging that the money trail of the coal scam ran through "traitors"in an apparent reference to ex-TMC leaders who are now with BJP, she named "a chain that included Amit Shah and Suvendu Adhikari", warning that she possessed proof was in pen drives.

“They talk about coal scam money. But who eats coal money? How is it eaten? It goes through traitors. Jagannath to Suvendu to Amit Shah, this is the chain. I have all the proof in pen drives. I will release it when the time comes,” she said.

Escalating her confrontation with the Union government, Mamata accused Central agencies of functioning as political tools of the BJP. “All agencies have been captured,” she said, alleging that the ruling party at the Centre had “forcibly captured” power in states such as Maharashtra, Haryana and Bihar.

“Do you think you can capture Bengal too? If someone tries to hit me politically, I get politically rejuvenated and reborn,” she said, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Mamata alleged that the BJP had “stolen” the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel’s help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by deleting genuine voters’ names.

Mamata announced that the TMC’s “next destination” would be the Election Commission in New Delhi to oppose what she described as harassment of voters.