It’s our defence against ED’s onslaughts: Mamata justifies presence during raids

Picking up the pieces of her outburst against the Enforcement Department raids at the I-PAQ office this morning, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee this evening continued her tirade against the Centre and Election Commission at Outram Ghat while inaugurating the Gangasagar Mela transit camp.

She lashed out at the ED’s action and the ECI’s ongoing SIR exercise in the state, which she said had been undertaken to undermine democracy by “looting internal data” of a particular political party and by deletion of names of bona fide voters. Both the Central institutions had combined to carry out a mission that was detrimental to democratic values, she alleged.

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The raid conducted today by the ED had the intention of smuggling out the party’s internal data, comprising poll strategy, candidate and voters’ lists from the party’s office on the one hand, and by using SIR for the deletion of names in a bid to help the BJP as the state’s Assembly poll drew nearer, the Chief Minister said.

Justifying her presence during the raids at the I-PAQ office and earlier at the residence of its chief Pratik Jain, Miss Banerjee said; “Every action has its reaction and every reaction has its action. By making myself present at the venues, I wanted to put up a defence and defiance to the onslaught being carried out by the ED, which had attempted to take away our party’s internal data. Is it not my duty to throw a defensive ring when an uncalled for invasion by an agency happens at a party’s office?”

On SIR, she claimed that the random deletion of names by the commission was being carried out in the name of electoral roll revision to give the BJP an upper hand in the coming polls.

“Even prominent personalities like Nobel laureate Amartya Sen were not spared the hazard of facing summons. Cricketer Mohammad Shami and our party’s three-time MP Dev too got the summons from the Commission,” she said.

Urging everyone to maintain harmony and peace, the Chief Minister also said, “Our party does not believe in splitting society on communal lines. We see all races and religions in the same eye and want everybody to remain cordial and harmonious with each other.”

On Gangasagar, Miss Banerjee said the foundation stone had been laid for a new bridge on Muri Ganga. Once it is completed in two to three years’ time, commuting to the pilgrim site would be easier than now.