NEW DELHI: The pre-dawn raid on the residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee sparked a political row, with the party accusing the ruling BJP of “political vendetta.“Trinamool’s Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra claimed that the 90-minute search yielded no seizures.“So @KolkataPolice arrives at 3 am at @abhishekaitc’s home, breaks open the door and searches for 90 minutes only to find nothing. Zero seizure, 100% vendetta. BJP will try everything. Intimidation and money will not make you win in 2029,” Moitra, a vocal BJP critic, posted on X, sharing a photo purportedly showing a Kolkata Police note on the search operation.The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose shared the same image and accused the BJP of a “disgraceful attack on an opposition leader.”“3 AM Saturday June 13. Police arrive at Abhishek Banerjee’s @abhishekaitc’s Kalighat residence in Kolkata. 5 AM: Disaster Management team called in to break open locks. 6:30 AM: Search begins, from second floor to terrace, lasting 90 minutes. Outcome? Seizure report says: NIL. No evidence. No wrongdoing. NOTHING,” Ghose posted on X.“Just political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture. Operation Lotus is targeting every leader who refuses to surrender to the BJP’s diktat. Disgraceful attack on an opposition leader. VINDICTIVE, CONNIVING, s*****g LOW-LIFE tactics. SHAME,” she added.The raid, conducted by a large contingent of police accompanied by central forces, was in connection with a case filed in a police station in Paschim Medinipur district, a senior officer said.According to police sources, officers arrived at Abhishek Banerjee’s residence and called out to the occupants.When there was no response, the team allegedly broke open locks to enter the premises and carried out a search that continued for several hours.TMC supremo and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also rushed to the spot after learning about the operation. Abhishek Banerjee is her nephew.The development came barely two days after the West Bengal CID questioned Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the alleged forged-signature case linked to the West Bengal assembly and amid a series of fresh summons issued to him by multiple investigating agencies.
