The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday (January 9, 2026) accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “interference” in an Enforcement Directorate search, describing her actions as “unethical, irresponsible and unconstitutional”, and alleging that they amounted to “serious penal offences”.
At a press conference, former Union Minister and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Chief Minister had entered a private property where an ED search was under way and had allegedly “snatched” papers from officials. He said the agency was taking action in connection with an alleged coal smuggling scam involving “hawala” transactions. According to him, a complaint had been received against a consultancy firm involving transactions running into crores of rupees, following which the search was conducted.
Stating that the ED had explained the entire linkage in its official statement, Mr. Prasad said West Bengal was a major “hotspot” for coal smuggling and alleged that several people from the ruling party were involved.
“This raid was neither at Mamata ji’s house nor at her office, nor at the Trinamool office, nor at the residence of any Trinamool leader, MLA, MP or office bearer. It was conducted at a private consultancy firm against which a complaint of money laundering worth crores of rupees had been received for allegedly facilitating the coal scam,” he said.
