New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday described as “massive embarrassment” for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the Calcutta High Court decision to dispose of the ruling TMC’s petition praying for protection of its data that may have been seized by the ED from I-PAC director Pratik Jain’s office and home during its raids last week.
The “corruption” of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its “corrupt link” with the private company will “soon” be exposed, the BJP said, asserting that constitutional authorities cannot be intimidated by political theatrics and the High Court has made that amply clear.
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday disposed of the TMC’s petition praying for protection of its data, saying the ED has informed that it has not seized anything from I-PAC director Pratik Jain’s office and home during its raids last week.
The TMC had moved the court seeking an order for preservation of personal and political data that may have been seized by the ED during its raids on these two premises on January 8.
Reacting to the development, BJP co-incharge for West Bengal Amit Malviya wrote in a post on X, “Massive embarrassment for Mamata Banerjee.”
“The Calcutta High Court has set aside Mamata Banerjee’s objection against the Enforcement Directorate, delivering a sharp rebuke to her blatant interference,” he said, adding, “Over to the Supreme Court now.”
Malviya alleged that Banerjee had “brazenly barged” into the premises of the I-PAC during the Enforcement Directorate’s raid in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged coal smuggling and money laundering case in her bid to “browbeat central agencies on camera”.
“This episode exposes her contempt for the rule of law and her desperation to shield corruption. Constitutional authorities cannot be intimidated by political theatrics and the High Court has made that amply clear,” he said.
“The chief minister has now been firmly put in her place by the judiciary,” the BJP leader added.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also took on Banerjee and said the Calcutta High Court is a “massive embarrassment” to the ruling TMC.
“The chief minister is personally responsible for preventing investigation with abetment of her DGP in the offence,” he alleged, adding, “The corruption of the TMC and its corrupt link with private company will soon be exposed.”
Representing the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju told the high court on wednesdaythat the agency has not seized anything from these two premises.
Disposing of the TMC’s petition, Justice Suvra Ghosh observed that in view of the submissions made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Union of India, nothing further remains to be dealt with in the present petition by the ruling party in West Bengal.
Justice Ghosh also adjourned a petition by the ED before it seeking a CBI probe into the events of January 8, when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had gone to the political consultancy firm’s office at Salt Lake and its director’s residence on Loudon Street in south Kolkata during the raids.
The high court noted that the the ED has filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court with prayers “which are almost identical with the present application before it”.
