‘Arrogance in Uniform,’ Says Mamata Banerjee as Police Detain TMC MPs Protesting Outside Shah’s Office
New Delhi: Eight TMC MPs were detained by Delhi Police on Friday (January 9) as they held a protest outside union home minister Amit Shah’s office in the national capital. The protest came a day after the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids on Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) offices in Kolkata and its founder Pratik Jain’s residence as a part of an investigation linked to an old coal smuggling case registered in Delhi. The TMC has questioned the timing of the raids ahead of this year’s assembly elections in the state with West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata calling the police action "arrogance in uniform."
In a statement Banerjee condemned the detention of her party MPs and said: "Dragging elected representatives on the streets for exercising their democratic right to protest outside the Home Minister’s office is not law enforcement - it is arrogance in uniform. This is a democracy, not the BJP’s private property."
"Democracy does not function on the convenience or comfort of those in power. When BJP leaders protest, they expect red carpets and special privileges. When opposition MPs raise their voices, they are dragged, detained, and humiliated. This double standard exposes the BJP’s idea of democracy - obedience, not dissent," she said.
Earlier on Friday, eight MPs including Derek O’ Brien, Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar, Saket Gokhale, Pratima Mondal, Kirti Azad and Sharmila Sarkar stood outside Shah’s office holding placards that read: “Bengal rejects Modi-Shah’s filthy politics”, “Amit Shah+ ED versus people of Bengal”. TMC shared images of the MPs being dragged and detained by the police. The MPs were then taken to Parliament Street Police Station.
"Extortion Directorate" or Enforcement Directorate? The mask is off! 🎭
By raiding us to steal election data, @AmitShah admits @BJP4India has zero ground presence in Bengal. They can't win votes, so they loot strategy!
As Hon'ble MP @MahuaMoitra asked: Why is ED only for the… pic.twitter.com/7kCdQW3sxL
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) January 9, 2026
"We have been detained and brought to the Parliament Street police station. We were protesting very peacefully outside the home ministry and Amit Shah's office who yesterday most shamelessly after being unable to fight us politically in Bengal sent his ED, the Extortionist Directorate to do loot and plunder and do political espionage on our party and steal our party's election documents," said Moitra to reporters.
"They dragged us and brought us here. We are public representatives, we are not criminals to be brought here like this."
The TMC also shared videos of their MPs being carried from outside Shah’s office and said in a statement that “the Delhi Police forcibly removed” the parliamentarians, calling it “undemocratic”, “unconstitutional” and “shameful.
In a separate statement the party accused Shah of being "rattled."
"First, the shameless misuse of the ED. Now, an attack on the peaceful dharna of our eight MPs. This desperation exposes your fear. You may try to choke democracy, but Bengal will not be cowed. Shame on you and your police" it said.
On Thursday, dramatic scenes were witnessed in Kolkata as Banerjee walked out with a green file in hand and accused Shah of confiscating her party's documents through the ED raids.
“Is it the duty of the ED, Amit Shah to collect the party’s hard disk, candidate list?… The nasty, naughty home minister who cannot protect the country and is taking away all my party documents. What will be the result if I raid the BJP party office? On one side, they are deleting the names of all the voters by carrying out the SIR in West Bengal…Because of the elections, they are collecting all the information about my party…” Banerjee said.
The ED on the other hand has said persons linked to the generation of coal-smuggling proceeds, hawala operators and handlers were covered in PMLA searches on January 8, 2026, and claimed I-PAC was among the entities linked to hawala money.
I-PAC has been closely associated with the TMC in West Bengal since 2019, playing a significant role in election strategy, governance feedback, and organisational restructuring.
This article went live on January ninth, two thousand twenty six, at forty-three minutes past three in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
