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Declaring that West Bengal would not bow to the alleged pressure from the Union Government, Trinamool Congress national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee issued a strong warning to the BJP amid escalating political tensions in the state.
In a post on X, Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP of weaponising central agencies and undermining democracy. “Democracy is punished. Criminals are rewarded. Agencies are weaponised. Elections are manipulated. This is the BJP’s version of New India. Even if the rest of the country is forced to surrender, Bengal will resist. We will fight you tooth and nail and defeat you,” he wrote.
His remarks came hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office in Salt Lake and its co-founder Pratik Jain’s home at Loudon Street in Kolkata, triggering a sharp backlash from the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached Jain’s home and the I-PAC office during the raid and confronted ED officials, questioning the agency’s authority and intent. Challenging the BJP, she asked what would happen if she were to “raid the BJP party office,” accusing the ruling party at the Centre of misusing investigative agencies for political purposes.
The Chief Minister alleged that the ED was “attempting to seize and access confidential documents related to the TMC’s 2026 Assembly election strategy”, including internal organisational material. She described the raid as an attack on democracy and claimed it was aimed at politically destabilising the state ahead of elections.
In response to the ED action, Mamata Banerjee moved the Calcutta High Court, countering the agency’s allegations and challenging the legality of the raid. The ED has separately approached the court, accusing the state administration of interference during the operation.
The developments have intensified the political confrontation between the TMC and the BJP, with the ruling party in Bengal projecting the ED action as a direct assault on federalism and democratic processes ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
