"Extortion Directorate sent to loot, plunder": Mahua Moitra on ED raid on I-PAC office

New Delhi [India], January 9 : Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Friday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of "misusing" the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to "loot and plunder" her party's election data through a raid on the I-PAC office in Kolkata.
Speaking to reporters here, she labelled ED as the "Extortion Directorate" and questioned its ongoing actions against opposition parties.
"We have been detained and brought to Parliament Street police station. We were protesting peacefully outside the office of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who most shamelessly sent his Enforcement Directorate, the Extortion Directorate, to loot, plunder and do political espionage on our party and steal our election data and documents," Moitra said.
"They (Delhi Police) dragged us, the public representatives, here. Why is ED selectively only for the opposition? No other opposition leader has the courage to do what Didi (Mamata Banerjee) did to save our party's documents," she added.
Moitra was at the Parliament Street police station with other detained MPs for protesting outside the Home Ministry.
Meanwhile, TMC MP Kirti Azad said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a protest march against ED action in Kolkata.
"You have seen that we were doing a peaceful protest outside Amit Shah's office against the ED raid. The BJP lacks the courage to win against Mamata Banerjee. She will hold a march at 2 pm today to protest against the ED action in Kolkata," he added.
The TMC MPs had gathered outside the Home Ministry in Delhi, raising slogans against Amit Shah, alleging "misuse" of the probe agency.
This comes after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee allegedly interfered during an ED raid in Kolkata at the offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC in connection with the coal smuggling case.
Banerjee questioned the legality of the raid, alleging that the central agency had seized party-related materials, including hard disks, candidate lists and strategic documents, and accused Amit Shah 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," Banerjee said while speaking to reporters.
"If Amit Shah wants Bengal, then come, fight democratically, and win. Everyone must know what kind of operation has been carried out. At 6:00 am, they arrived and seized the party's data, laptops, strategies, and mobile phones. Their forensic experts transferred all the data. I believe this is a crime," she said.
Countering the Chief Minister's allegations, the ED accused Mamata Banerjee of entering the residential premises of Prateek Jain, director of I-PAC, during the ongoing search operation and taking away "key evidence", including physical documents and electronic devices.
"Banerjee entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain and took away key evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices," the ED said, adding that her convoy then proceeded to I-PAC's office, from where "Ms Banerjee, her aides and the state police personnel forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence".