Mamata Banerjee Protest Live: Leads Kolkata Protest after ED Raids on I-PAC, Accuses BJP

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, marches from Jadavpur to Hazra More, accusing the ED of politically motivated I-PAC raids in advance of elections.

On Friday, January 9, 2026, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee protest Kolkata on the streets over the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) raids on the I-PAC office and co-founder Pratik Jain's home. The procession from Jadavapur 8B Bus Stand to Hazra More will be led by Ms. Banerjee.

The Hon'ble Chairperson @MamataOfficial will lead a rally against the BJP's flagrant abuse of central agencies and its assault on democracy tomorrow, the Trinamool Congress announced on their X (formerly Twitter).

During ED raids on Thursday, Ms. Banerjee went to Mr. Jain's home and the political consulting firm's Kolkata office. She said that the raids were "politically motivated to obtain party information", including the list of candidates for the next elections.

Speaking at a gathering later that day, the Chief Minister denounced the Central agency's actions and claimed that "they occurred before elections." She said that everything, including the SIR list and all data, had been stolen by the ED.

The chairwoman of the Trinamool Congress had already protested against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision and attacks on migrant workers from the State in other parts of the nation by taking to the city's streets multiple times last year. According to political commentators, the Chief Minister now has more leverage to target the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a result of the Mamata Banerjee ED raid protest on the political consulting firm.

I-PAC raids, according to the Trinamool Congress, demonstrated the BJP's desperation. According to a post made by the TMC on its official account, the BJP releases ED when it knows it will lose Bengal. This is the politics of Amit Shah: files, force, and terror. It reveals his desperation. Come to the people if you have the courage. Combat us politically! Not by using central agencies as puppets.

Mahua Moitra and Saket Gokhale, leaders of the Trinamool Congress, backed the party chairwoman in opposing the Central investigative agency.

TMC MP I-PAC devices probably only carry current political data; thus, Ms. Moitra questioned why the ED "suddenly woke up" on a 10-year-old case right before elections. According to her, Ms. Banerjee had good reason to take the devices in order to keep private data safe. Mr. Gokhale, a member of the Rajya Sabha, noted that only 47 of the 5,297 ED cases that were filed over the course of 11 years got to trial, with 98% of those charges targeting opposition politicians and the remaining ones being connected to BJP defectors.