Bengal polls: Trinamool refutes news report claiming I-PAC paused operations in the state

The Trinamool Congress on Sunday refuted a news report claiming that political consultancy Indian Political Action Committee has paused its operations in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections, calling it “completely baseless”.

In a statement, the party said it had come across a report claiming that I-PAC had “halted its operations in West Bengal for the next 20 days”. The Trinamool Congress described the claim as a “deliberate attempt to create confusion on the ground”.

I-PAC has managed the Trinamool Congress’ election campaigns, including the 2021 Assembly elections. It is also managing the party’s campaign for the upcoming state polls.

The Trinamool Congress said that the I-PAC team in West Bengal remained fully engaged with the party and that campaign activities were continuing as planned.

“The people of Bengal are fully capable of seeing through these attempts and will respond democratically,” the state’s ruling party said. “West Bengal will not be swayed by misinformation or intimidation.”

The comments came after a report in the Deccan Herald on Sunday said that I-PAC had decided to pause its operations in West Bengal following action by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering investigation linked to an alleged coal smuggling case in the state.

The report said that members of the political consultancy’s Bengal team had been informed that they could take a 20-day leave, with a review expected on May 11.

The polls in the state will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.

Earlier in April, the Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at locations in several cities, including premises linked to I-PAC officials. One of its directors, Vinesh Chandel, was arrested on April 13 in connection with the case and remanded to 10 days custody of the central agency.

The agency’s case stems from a November 2020 first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation about an alleged coal smuggling syndicate that was used to “steal and illegally excavate coal from [Eastern Coalfields Limited] leasehold areas” in West Bengal.

The ED has alleged that a hawala operator linked to the network facilitated transactions worth tens of crores of rupees to Indian PAC Consulting Private Limited, the registered entity of I-PAC.

The central agency had also conducted searches on January 8 at the political consultancy’s office in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area, the home of its head Pratik Jain and the office of a trader in the city’s Posta neighbourhood as part of the investigation into alleged money laundering.

The searches had led to a political dispute after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at Jain’s home around noon while the search was underway and stayed for about 20 to 25 minutes. She then came out with a file and claimed that the central agency’s officials were “taking away” party documents ahead of the Assembly polls.

After the raids, the Trinamool Congress and I-PAC had moved the Calcutta High Court, challenging the legality of the searches. The central agency also approached the High Court, alleging “illegal interference” in its work.