Will the Mamata Government Condemn the ED and CBI in the Bengal Assembly?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Kolkata, Jan 28 (NationPress) The government led by Mamata Banerjee is set to introduce a motion in the West Bengal Assembly to denounce the actions of central investigative agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during the upcoming Budget Session starting next week.
According to sources within the Trinamool Congress legislative party, another motion will also be brought forward during this session to criticize the way the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is being handled in the state.
The Budget Session is scheduled to commence on February 3 and conclude on February 9. The West Bengal Minister of State for Finance (independent charge) will present the “vote on accounts” for the fiscal year 2026-27 on February 5.
The comprehensive budget will be unveiled by the new state cabinet post the Assembly elections.
Insiders from the Trinamool Congress indicated that both motions will be introduced during the forthcoming Budget Session by Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, the state’s Minister for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs.
The motion criticizing the role of the CBI and ED holds substantial importance amid recent controversies regarding the simultaneous raids conducted by the ED at the Indian Political Action Committee's Salt Lake office and the residence of I-PAC's co-founder, Pratik Jain, in Loudon Street, central Kolkata. While these raids were in progress, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with senior bureaucrats and police officials visited the locations consecutively, removing several files and electronic records.
Presently, a petition and a counter-petition related to this issue are under consideration at the Supreme Court. In the primary petition filed by the ED, the central agency accused the Chief Minister of misusing her constitutional authority to obstruct an ongoing investigation.
In the counter-petition, the Trinamool Congress alleged that the ED was attempting to seize critical documents pertaining to the party’s strategies from these locations and transfer them to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), noting that I-PAC has been functioning as a voter-strategy agency for the Trinamool Congress since 2020.