Mamata Warns Of Taking Fight Against ED, SIR To Delhi At Hazra More Meeting In Kolkata

Kolkata: Alleging 'over-activity' by central agencies and selective removal of names from the voter list by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directly called for a confrontation in New Delhi.

The language she used to attack the Election Commission and the BJP at a meeting in Hazra More in Kolkata is unprecedented in recent times. When Mamata took the microphone at the meeting on Friday afternoon, her voice carried a tone of defiance. She said the Enforcement Directorate's raid on the I-PAC office was 'politically motivated' and a 'conspiracy to steal data'. She alleged that the raid was conducted to weaken the Trinamool Congress' organizational strength before the Assembly elections in West Bengal.

“We have authorized I-PAC to handle our IT cell. The ED entered the I-PAC office at 6 am and I received the news later. They actually went there to steal voter list, the list of Booth Level Agents (BLAs), and the applications of common people. They stole everything during their stay at the office that spanned five-and-a-half hours.”

Mamata alleged the main purpose of the 'theft' was to disrupt the Trinamool Congress' polling management before the elections. She stated that when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, I-PAC had worked for him. "There was no problem then, but now there are problems because they are working for the Trinamool. Why did you come like thieves? You are stealing and taking away the SIR data of all the people," she said at the meeting.

Mamata further alleged that the names of 54 lakh people have been selectively removed from the voter list. "A large portion of those affected are women, minorities, and new voters," she said. Regarding the allegations of harassment of common people at the Special Intensive Revision centres, she said, “Ordinary people are being summoned to the SIR centres, but they are not being given receipts. Ninety-year-old women, patients with tubes inserted in their noses, and pregnant mothers are being forced to climb to the third floor. What kind of verification is this? This is torture," the Chief Minister said.

She alleged that the BJP, through a specific organization, has deliberately removed the names of voters from the list. She expressed her anger particularly over the removal of women's names. “When girls get married, their surnames change, their addresses change. This is our tradition. But names are being removed on such pretext. Even names are being struck off due to spelling mistakes or minor variations in proper nouns. Is this democracy?”, she questioned.

Mamata said the Election Commission is acting at the behest of the BJP. Questioning the process of appointing the Election Commissioner, she said, “The person who has taken charge of the Commission was previously a secretary in Amit Shah's office. I have no objection to that. But if he becomes ‘Vanishing Kumar’ and makes the votes vanish, we will not remain silent.”

She warned that the Election Commission would not be able to stop her. “What will the Election Commission do to me? Nothing. I have said earlier, an injured tiger is more dangerous than a healthy one. You will stop me for one day, but I will reap the harvest for 100 days,” she said.

Attacking the BJP, which she called a ‘jumla party’ (party of empty promises) and a ‘troublemaking party’, she said that those who want to exclude "Gandhiji, Netaji, and Rabindranath Tagore do not truly understand Bengal".

Mamata declared that the fight will no longer be confined to the soil of Bengal. “Our next destination is the Election Commission. We will not sit idly and eat lollipops. If you think you will conduct the elections with the Army, BSF, and CRPF, then know that Bengal will not give you that opportunity,” she said, which instructing her party's workers to ensure that the names of those who have not yet been registered at the SIR centres in every block are included in the voter list.

At the meeting, Mamata also spoke of her personal struggles. Recalling the attack on her at Hazra More during the CPM regime, she said, “When they hit me on the head with a stick, blood gushed out. The bones in my hand were crushed. But I did not give up. I seem to fall asleep if I am not attacked. An attack gives me a new lease of life,” the TMC chief said.

From the rally at Hazra More, Mamata sounded the war cry for an all-out battle ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. She used the ED raids as a tool to energize her party workers. By calling for a march to Delhi, she made it clear that the battlefield is now expanding at the national level. She also indicated that she will take the fight started by Abhishek Banerjee to its final stage, which could create new equations in national politics in the coming days.

Meanwhile, I-PAC raised "serious concerns" over the raids, calling the move an "unsettling precedent". "Officials from the Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at the I-PAC office and at the residence of our Director, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata. It was a difficult and unfortunate day for a professional organisation like I-PAC. We believe this raises serious concerns and sets an unsettling precedent," I-PAC's statement read.

It said that the agency have extended full cooperation and engage with the process in complete accordance with the law.

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