New Delhi: Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) has temporarily halted operations in poll-bound West Bengal, where it has been managing the campaign of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Though the Trinamool did not officially confirm the shutdown of the agency, it reiterated, in a press conference Monday, that all I-PAC employees will be taken care of.
On Sunday, Trinamool supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had stated that individuals working for her party were facing pressure. She assured that their jobs would be protected, and employment would be taken care of irrespective of the situation.ThePrint contacted a spokesperson of I-PAC over calls and WhatsApp for an official comment.
With voting scheduled 23 and 29 April, the I-PAC episode is only set to raise political temperatures in the eastern state, where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is already a much-debated issue.
Nearly 27 lakh people in Bengal won’t be able to vote in this election after deletion of their names from the electoral rolls following adjudication by judicial officers. The Centre has announced the deployment of 480 companies of paramilitary forces ahead of the polls, a decision which is being considered unprecedented by the Opposition parties across the country.
“We are doing fine. All is well. There are young people in their twenties who work in these agencies. We mustn’t do anything to jeopardise their careers,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said Monday at a press briefing in Kolkata.
On Sunday, I-PAC informed its staff via a late-night email that operations were being paused for 20 days due to “certain legal issues”. Employees were directed to go on leave for 20 days, after which the situation will be reviewed around 11 May.
“In view of certain legal issues, management has decided to pause operations in West Bengal with immediate effect. We fully respect the law of the land, are cooperating with the process and are certain that justice will take its due course. In this backdrop, all employees and team members are requested to avail a short leave for a period of 20 days. At the end of this period, by 11th May, we will regroup, review the situation, and decide the next steps,” the email reads.
I-PAC has been facing legal troubles over the past few months, ranging from an ongoing money-laundering probe to enforcement actions targeting its leadership and offices.
Its co-founder Vinesh Chandel was arrested 2 April by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the charges of money laundering. The case is said to be connected to an alleged coal scam in which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lodged an FIR in November 2020.
On 2 April, the ED raided the residence of another I-PAC co-founder Rishi Raj Singh in Bengaluru. Singh was summoned to appear for questioning Monday in New Delhi in a hawala transactions-linked money laundering case.
A similar raid was carried out at the Kolkata residence of I-PAC director Pratik Jain in January, an action that had prompted Mamata to reach the spot and “forcibly remove” key physical and electronic evidence.
The Trinamool Congress has consistently maintained that these developments are not merely legal in nature, but part of a larger political strategy, alleging them to be “pressure tactics” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Notably, I-PAC is also providing strategic consulting services to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu. The southern state votes 23 April.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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