The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the home of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam.
Political consultancy firm I-PAC has reacted to the Enforcement Directorate's raids at its Kolkata premises, calling it an "unsettling precedent." The raids have triggered political upheaval in West Bengal, where elections are due in months. The firm, engaged by the TMC, said it would continue to work in an "unfazed and unperturbed" manner.
Kolkata Police have initiated an investigation into the ED officials who conducted a search at the residence and office of I-PAC director Pratik Jain, following a complaint by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging theft of documents.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dramatically turned up at the residence of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain amid an ongoing Enforcement Directorate raid, alleging that the central agency was attempting to seize the Trinamool Congress's internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.
Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Banerjee 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.
The BJP has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of attempting to separate the state from India by inciting violence and protecting illegal immigrants, drawing parallels to the 1905 partition of Bengal.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging interference and obstruction by the West Bengal government, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in its probe into an alleged coal-pilferage scam. The ED claims Banerjee removed key evidence during raids on I-PAC offices and the premises of its director, Pratik Jain.
The ED said the actions of Banerjee and the Kolkata Police commissioner resulted in "obstructions" in the ongoing investigation and proceedings being undertaken as per the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The BJP has criticized West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following Supreme Court observations regarding obstructions during ED raids at I-PAC premises, alleging abuse of power and shielding of those accused of corruption.
The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern over the Enforcement Directorate's allegations of obstruction by the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during raids related to a coal-pilferage scam. The court intends to examine the matter and has also taken note of the commotion at the Calcutta High Court during hearings related to the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI investigation into the role of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior police officials and others for allegedly obstructing its raids in Kolkata against political consultancy firm I-PAC and its director in connection with an alleged coal scam.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march in Kolkata against Enforcement Directorate searches linked to I-PAC, signaling a show of strength ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. The march featured cultural elements and participation from party members and celebrities.
Despite his influence, Pratik Jain avoids the spotlight. Credit is routinely passed on to colleagues. He maintains no visible faction within the TMC, no personal coterie.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has set an ambitious goal of winning over 215 seats in the 2026 state assembly elections, aiming to secure a fourth consecutive term for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). She declared that the party will work to significantly reduce the BJP's tally and ensure that their candidates struggle to retain their deposits. The TMC's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, echoed this sentiment, urging party workers to ensure a decisive victory and achieve a two-thirds majority in the upcoming polls. The BJP, however, dismissed the TMC's claims, stating that Banerjee is merely trying to boost morale among party workers.
Asked about her potential successor, Banerjee deflected the question with a counter-query to the interviewer, "Who is your successor?"
Addressing a women's convention in Patna, Kishor, the founder of political consultancy firm I-PAC, said Jan Suraaj wants to empower women of the state
The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
The party was floated exactly two years after Kishor had embarked on a more than 3,000-km-long 'padayatra' of the state.
Nearly half of the MPs elected in the 2019 general elections in India were first-timers.
There have been speculations since some time about a rift between the TMC and Prashant Kishor's I-PAC.
TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose submitted a letter to the Election Commission on Thursday.
Among other measures, TMC announced Monday that it had formed coordination committees in all districts comprising senior leaders to look into party members' grievances.
TRS leader K T Rama Rao confirmed that Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) is working for TRS officially.
The JD-U, may be the BJP's partner for now. But it is a party at all only because of Nitish Kumar. The day Nitish Kumar exits, the JD-U will split into hundreds of pieces. Obviously, Prashant Kishor is setting himself up as the vessel that will collect all the pieces and put them together in some sort of political instrument, explains Aditi Phadnis.
Kanugolu had also made forays in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh following a directive from the party's central leadership but regional satraps Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath reportedly were not on the same page as the poll strategist.
While Tripura unit of TMC described it as an "attack on democracy" and said they were confined to their hotel by the police, Manik Das, Superintendent of Police, West Tripura, claimed members of the 22-member I-Pac team are being questioned in a Agartala city-based hotel, as part of a routine check-up.
The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), which contested the Goa Assembly elections for the first time this year, failed to make a mark in the coastal state.
Prashant Kishor expressed the view that the recent 'chintan shivir' could not achieve "anything meaningful".
Like, Share, Subscribe, Vote: The 2024 polls may be dubbed 'YouTube election'.
Long before the by-election was announced, a person with the name Prashant Kishor was included in the list of the electorate in Bhabanipur during the addition process in January-April, according to the Election Commission website.
Kishor had claimed that Nitish Kumar asked him to lead the JD-U.
Kishor, whose team I-PAC is working in planning TMC's election campaign, in his latest tweet said that one of the key battles for democracy in the country will be fought in the West Bengal.
As state minister Suvendu Adhikari, along with other functionaries, openly air grievances against the Mamata Banerjee-led dispensation, senior leaders are frantically looking for ways to pacify the rebels.
'I declined the generous offer of Congress to join the party as part of the EAG and take responsibility for the elections. In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms,' Kishor said in a tweet.
For quite some time, there was speculation that actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam and the DMK would sign up with the strategist for the 2021 assembly polls.
The DMK, AIADMK, PMK, BJP gear up for next May's assembly elections.
'The more you challenge her, the more powerful she gets'
'My quest to be a meaningful participant in democracy & help shape pro-people policy led to a 10yr rollercoaster ride! As I turn the page, time to go to the Real Masters, THE PEOPLE, to better understand the issues & the path to Peoples Good Governance,' Kishor said in a tweet.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has recently written to all opposition parties including the Congress, calling on everyone to come together and put up a united fight against saffron forces.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also decided to convene a 'Chintan Shivir', a brainstorming session from May 13-15 in Udaipur.
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