After the Trinamul Congress lost the Assembly election, many of its leaders have come out in the open expressing their dissent. While some are blaming the party’s top leaders, others are attacking the election consultancy firm, I-PAC.
The All India Trinamool Congress on Sunday dismissed reports that the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) had halted its operations in West Bengal for 20 days, calling the claim “completely baseless” and aimed at misleading voters ahead of key polling dates.
Fresh claims by the Enforcement Directorate have added new layers to the ongoing probe into I-PAC, with investigators pointing to financial trails, document recovery and possible data tampering.
The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an alleged multi-crore coal pilferage-linked money laundering case.
The state government on Saturday filed a caveat in the Supreme Court in connection with the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) petition relating to the searches conducted at the I-PAC office and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain.
A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at the office of I-PAC in connection with the alleged coal smuggling case, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to the streets to protest against the ED action. CM Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to come to power in West Bengal as they did in Maharashtra and Haryana.
Ahead of the hearing, Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari levelled explosive corruption allegations, claiming that Rs 16 crore of “tainted money” had been transferred to I-PAC’s bank account.
Prasad also criticised the Trinamool Congress protests outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah's office.
The Calcutta High Court has adjourned the hearing of petitions related to the ED raids at I-PAC premises till January 14. The single-judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh adjourned the hearing on the three petitions, citing an unmanageable crowd in the courtroom.
I-PAC was founded by political strategist Prashant Kishor ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and is currently working with the Trinamool Congress and the state government run by it. The collaboration started after the 2019 General Elections, and was seen as a key driver of the landslide won by the TMC in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly Election.
