Agencies weaponised: Abhishek Banerjee breaks silence on ED’s I-PAC raids after Trinamool MPs detained by Delhi Police

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party’s Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee on Friday morning finally broke his silence on the issue of the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s simultaneous raids and search operations on Thursday at the office of the India Political Action Committee (I-PAC) at Salt Lake and at the residence of I-PAC co-founder Pratik Jain at Loudon Street in central Kolkata.

Abhishek Banerjee broke his silence on the matter after a group of Trinamool Congress MPs, both from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, were intercepted and detained by the Delhi Police on Friday morning while they were protesting in front of the Union Home Ministry’s office in the national Capital.

The Trinamool Congress put up a post on social media soon after the incident, lambasting the Union Government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the developments.

In his social media post, Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP and the Centre of weaponising the central investigative agencies to manipulate elections.

“Democracy is punished. Criminals are rewarded. Agencies are weaponised. Elections are manipulated. JAIL the PROTESTERS. BAIL the RAPISTS. This is the BJP’s version of ‘New India’. Even if the rest of the country is forced to surrender, Bengal will resist. We will fight you tooth and nail and defeat you, no matter how much force you unleash,” said Banerjee in his social media post sharing another similar post by Trinamool Congress in the matter and some pictures of the party MPs being detained by the Delhi Police earlier in the day.

Incidentally, on Thursday, while the raid and search operations by the ED officials were being conducted in Kolkata, Abhishek Banerjee maintained silence on the matter, even while interacting with people and media persons at a scheduled programme in Malda district.

He is supposed to address a public rally in Nadia district later on Friday, and it is to be seen now whether he will make any detailed comment on the matter there or not.

At the time of filing of the report, there was no reaction from West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, on the issue of the detention of Trinamool Congress MPs by Delhi Police.

The Chief Minister is scheduled to lead a protest rally of Trinamool Congress against the ED’s actions and it is to be seen whether she comments on the issues of detention of the party MPs, at the end of the rally or not.

IANS