TNI Bureau: A fresh round of Enforcement Directorate (ED) search operations in West Bengal and Delhi today triggered a major political confrontation between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government.

According to the ED, simultaneous searches were carried out at 10 locations—six in West Bengal and four in Delhi—in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged coal smuggling syndicate. The probe pertains to the illegal extraction and theft of coal from leasehold areas of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in West Bengal. The agency said the syndicate is allegedly led by Anup Majee and the searches were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Among the prominent locations searched were the Salt Lake office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its chief, Pratik Jain. Jain is a key political strategist associated with the TMC and is currently overseeing the party’s information technology and digital operations.

The situation escalated when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited one of the raid sites in person. Accompanied by senior state police officials, her presence led to a tense standoff with ED officers, drawing sharp political attention to the operation.

Later, the ED alleged in a post on X that the Chief Minister, along with state police personnel, had “forcibly removed” physical documents and electronic devices, including hard disks, from two of the premises under search. The agency claimed that the removal of these materials disrupted the lawful conduct of the investigation.

Strongly reacting to the raids, Banerjee described the ED action as a case of “political vendetta” and accused the Centre of misusing central agencies to target the TMC ahead of elections. She alleged that the agency was deliberately focusing on her party’s “IT office” to access sensitive organisational and strategic information.

The Chief Minister also launched a scathing attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, calling him the “naughtiest and nastiest” Home Minister. She questioned whether it was the role of a central investigative agency to collect internal documents of a political party, including candidate lists and policy-related material.

Linking the raids to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, Banerjee claimed that while voter names were allegedly being deleted during the revision process, central agencies were simultaneously being used to target opposition parties and “loot” their data.

The ED, however, rejected the political allegations and clarified that the searches were purely evidence-based. The agency maintained that the action was part of a routine money laundering investigation and had no connection with any political party or the forthcoming elections.

As the war of words intensifies, the latest ED action has further deepened the political divide between the TMC-led West Bengal government and the BJP-led Centre.