ED raids before polls a fashion now, TMC-BJP engaged in match-fixing: Congress' Ghulam Ahmad Mir

Siliguri (West Bengal) [India], January 9 : Congress party's West Bengal in-charge, Ghulam Ahmad Mir has alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the I-PAC office in Kolkata were "politically timed" due to the assembly elections approaching. He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of routinely using central agencies before polls, and said the people of West Bengal should see how the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) "get into match-fixing".
Speaking to the media, the Congress leader said corruption cases in West Bengal have existed for years, but questioned the timing of the ED action ahead of the upcoming assembly polls.
"There have been corruption cases in West Bengal for years now. But it has become a fashion among the BJP that whenever a state is about to go to the polls, they send ED there before them. If this were indeed a case against this company, the company has been in operation for years now. This ED raid could have taken place two or three years ago. Why is it happening today?" he asked.
Mir also questioned Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to visit the I-PAC office during the ED raids. "If ED has brought a company under investigation, what was the compulsion for the CM to go there and take away files and documents? This is a matter of concern," he said.
"People of West Bengal should see how the BJP and TMC get into match fixing. They give agendas to each other. But this time, we feel the people of West Bengal have decided to expose the failures of both governments and make way for a third option," Mir said, adding that the Congress has been campaigning across the state to strengthen the party.
The remarks come amid political drama in West Bengal after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached the offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC on Thursday, even as the ED was conducting search operations in connection with the coal smuggling case.
Earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee visited the I-PAC office on a public road and accused the central agency of unlawfully seizing party-related data, laptops, mobile phones, and strategic documents. She alleged that forensic experts transferred data during the raid, calling it a "crime" and dared Union Home Minister Amit Shah to fight the Trinamool Congress (TMC) democratically in Bengal.
The Chief Minister claimed the ED confiscated sensitive party documents, including data related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, despite the TMC being a registered political party that regularly submits income tax details.
Meanwhile, ED stated that the searches were conducted in accordance with legal safeguards. The agency claimed that certain individuals, including constitutional functionaries, illegally entered two premises and forcibly removed documents.
The ED has moved the Calcutta High Court alleging illegal interference during its search operations. As per sources, the matter is scheduled to be heard by Justice Suvra Ghosh on Friday, and the agency has also filed a case citing obstruction and hindrance to the investigation during the raids.
Amid the escalating BJP versus TMC showdown, Mamata Banerjee is set to lead a protest in Kolkata on January 9 against the ED raids, as West Bengal gears up for elections in the first half of this year.