West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday sharply escalated her confrontation with the BJP-led Centre following Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches linked to political consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata. Reacting strongly to the agency’s action, Banerjee accused the Union government of misusing central agencies to intimidate her party and interfere in Bengal’s political process.

Addressing the media, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo directly appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to intervene and restrain what she described as politically driven actions by the Home Ministry. She alleged that investigative agencies were being used not for lawful probes but to access confidential political material belonging to her party.

Banerjee claimed that the ED was attempting to seize internal party data, including strategy documents, voter-related information, and digital records. According to her, such actions amounted to an attack on democracy and an attempt to weaken Bengal’s mandate through non-electoral means.

Questioning the BJP’s political confidence in the state, the Chief Minister said that if the party believed in its strength, it should challenge the TMC through democratic elections rather than resorting to agency pressure. She warned that repeated use of such tactics would provoke public backlash and further erode the BJP’s political standing in West Bengal.