‘If Someone Tries To Kill Me…’: Mamata Banerjee Hits Out At Amit Shah, Threatens To Reveal Evidence In Pen Drives

India

oi-Swastika Sruti

West
Bengal
Chief
Minister
Mamata
Banerjee
defended
her
actions
after
an
Enforcement
Directorate
(ED)
raid
at
the
I-PAC
office
in
Kolkata.
Speaking
at
a
protest
rally,
she
warned
that
she
holds
evidence
on
pen
drives
and
said
she
would
make
it
public
if
she
or
her
party
were
attacked.
She
also
urged
her
party
to
keep
protesting
and
set
bigger
political
goals.

Pen
Drive
Threath

At
the
gathering,
Mamata
asked,
“If
someone
comes
to
kill
me,
don’t
I
have
right
to
self
defence,” to
justify
her
presence
at
the
ED
raid
venue.
She
told
supporters,
“You
are
fortunate
that
I
am
still
in
office;
that
is
why
I
have
not
revealed
the
pen
drives
(containing
confidential
information
related
to
the
BJP).

If
you
try
to
target
me,
I
will
make
that
information
public…
I
know
many
things,
but
I
choose
not
to
say
them
in
the
interest
of
the
country.”

She
repeated
strong
warnings
about
the
pen
drives.
“Coal
Smuggling
Money
had
changed
hands
&
had
reached
Amit
Shah
via
Suvendu
Adhikari,
i
have
Proof
in
Pen
Drives,” she
said,
and
added,
“Don’t
irate
me,
I
will
release
all
Evidences
stored
in
Pen
Drives.”

She
also
cautioned
political
opponents
with
the
line,
“Don’t
cross
the
Laxman
Rekha.”
Mamata
described
the
ED
officers’
action
at
I-PAC
as
wrong.

“Why
did
they
come
like
thieves?
They
were
stealing
our
party’s
confidential
data
from
the
I-PAC
office,
which
we
had
authorised,” she
said.
She
insisted
she
acted
as
the
All
India
Trinamool
Congress
(AITC)
chairperson
and
claimed
she
had
done
nothing
illegal.

She
also
raised
broader
cultural
concerns,
accusing
some
leaders
of
being
hostile
to
Bengalis.
“They
are
not
able
to
tolerate
Bengali.
They
are
killing
all
Bengali-speaking
people
in
Odisha,
Madhya
Pradesh,
Rajasthan,
Haryana,
Delhi,
Gujarat…”
she
told
the
crowd.

Protests,
Complaints
and
Legal
Steps

Mamata
led
a
protest
march
in
south
Kolkata
and
filed
dual
complaints
against
the
ED
following
the
raids
at
I-PAC.
An
officer
said
Kolkata
and
Bidhannagar
Police
registered
First
Information
Reports
(FIRs)
and
started
an
inquiry
after
the
complaints
were
lodged.

The
party
also
moved
the
Calcutta
High
Court
to
challenge
the
ED
action.
These
moves
mark
a
direct
face-off
between
the
state
leadership
and
central
agencies.

At
the
rally,
Mamata
told
MP
Kalyan
Banerjee
to
plan
the
next
protest
at
the
Election
Commission
office.
“Let
our
next
destination
of
protest
be
EC
office,” she
instructed.
She
also
set
a
national
goal
for
her
party:
“After
winning
Bengal,
we
must
win
Delhi
as
well;
can’t
have
BJP
rule
India,”
she
said,
calling
for
unity
and
further
mobilisation
ahead
of
future
elections.

Opposition
Reaction
and
Calls
for
Investigation

BJP
leaders
strongly
criticised
Mamata’s
conduct.
Party
MP
Ravi
Shankar
Prasad
said
the
raid
targeted
private
property
and
alleged
the
ED
officers
had
been
obstructed.
He
asked
for
a
full
probe
and
suggested
a
CBI
investigation
and
FIRs
for
the
people
who
interfered.

He
said
digital
and
other
documents
had
been
snatched
away
and
described
the
courtroom
disruption
during
the
hearing
as
“highly
unfortunate”
and
“downright
condemnable.”

Prasad
accused
Mamata
of
protecting
wrongdoers
and
warned
that
her
political
fortunes
could
be
ending.
He
compared
the
situation
to
past
corruption
scandals
and
said
those
responsible
should
face
the
law.
He
also
complained
that
the
court
hearing
had
to
be
postponed
and
listed
for
further
hearing
on
January
14.

The
dispute
has
heightened
tensions
between
the
state
government
and
the
central
agencies.
Supporters
say
Mamata
stood
up
to
unlawful
action,
while
opponents
call
for
strict
legal
steps.
The
row
is
set
to
continue
in
courtrooms
and
on
the
streets
in
the
weeks
ahead.