Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 10: The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday approached the Supreme Court complaining against the West Bengal government of having stopped the agency from carrying out searches and seizing materials linked to its investigation into an alleged coal smuggling scam.
The ED filed the petition under the principles enshrined in Article 32 of the Constitution, which allows every person the right to approach the Supreme Court to enforce their fundamental rights, a day after the Calcutta High Court adjourned hearing into the compliant on Friday due to chaos in the court room caused by overcrowding.
The West Bengal government also reached the Supreme Court with a caveat that no order should be passed without hearing it in connection with the ED searches. The West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee filed two complaints with two different police stations over the ED’s searches at the I-PAC chief’s Kolkata house and another property on the city’s outskirts. The state police have also filed a suo motu complaint.
The ED in its complaint in the apex court said West Bengal government officials with support of the Chief Minister stopped its officials from carrying out searches and seizing material linked to the ED’s investigation into an alleged coal smuggling scam. The ED reached the Supreme Court a day after the Calcutta High Court adjourned the hearing of its petition alleging interference by Banerjee during searches at the house of political consultancy firm I-PAC director Pratik Jain.
I-PAC has been working on the election strategy for Banerjee’s ruling Trinamool Congress, ahead of the election to be held by April. Physical documents and electronic devices were forcibly removed from the premises in the presence of senior state officials, the ED said in its petition. The probe agency narrated the sequence of events and called the entire matter a “showdown” due to the Bengal government’s actions.
The ED said interference by state authorities, including the police, clearly proved the integrity of the investigation into the coal smuggling case has been compromised. It asked the Supreme Court to order the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look into the events that unfolded during the search at the I-PAC building. The ED said its “right to conduct a fair and independent investigation has been curtailed by the state machinery.”
The chief minister yesterday led a massive protest march, and alleged the BJP-led Centre has been misusing central agencies to steal the Trinamool’s election strategy. Walking in south Kolkata, a route long associated with her street politics, Banerjee transformed the ED action into a show of political mobilisation, signalling that the ruling party intends to fight the battle not only in courtrooms but also on the streets.
As the street mobilisation unfolded, the confrontation simultaneously spilled into the judicial arena, with the Calcutta High Court adjourning till January 14 the hearing on petitions related to the ED’s search of I-PAC. An IIT Bombay alumnus, the co-founder of I-PAC Pratik Jain, is a political strategist and is known for his role in building I-PAC into one of India’s most influential political consulting firms.
Founded in 2015, I-PAC is involved in services such as data-driven campaign management, governance support and voter outreach programmes. Over the years, it has worked with several political parties across India, including Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal.
According to reports, I-PAC works closely with Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee and his office. The firm is responsible for designing the poll campaigns of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and also manages its IT and media cell. Ms Banerjee herself said Mr Jain was head of the IT cell of the Trinamool Congress.
The political consulting firm has worked with several political leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, M.K. Stalin, Jaganmohan Reddy, Uddhav Thackeray, Rahul Gandhi, and Nitish Kumar. The firm worked on several events with Narendra Modi who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the campaigns aided in BJP winning a decisive mandate in 2014.
