TMC MPs Including Mahua Detained Outside Shah's Office As Political Clash Over ED Raids Escalates

New Delhi: A group of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs were briefly detained by Delhi Police on Friday after staging a protest outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s office on Parliament Street. 

The MPs were demonstrating against Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on the office and residence of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain in Kolkata.

The protest turned tense as leaders, including Mahua Moitra and Derek O’Brien, were stopped at the gate of the Home Ministry’s building. Police moved in and took them to the nearby Parliament Street police station before releasing them later in the day. 

Who took part in the protest?

Alongside Moitra and O’Brien, others present included Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar, Saket Gokhale, Pratima Mondal, Kirti Azad and Sharmila Sarkar. They held placards, 'Bengal rejects Modi-Shah's dirty politics' and shouted slogans accusing the Centre of misusing investigative agencies for political purposes.

Several videos circulating on social media show police lifting some MPs and guiding them into vehicles after they refused to disperse. Party leaders said the protest was peaceful but was broken up because permission had not been granted for the gathering.

"Shame shame shame! We will defeat the BJP. The country is seeing how the Delhi Police is treating an elected MP," yelled TMC MP Mahua Moitra after she was detained and carried by police personnel.

Amit Shah’s cops dragging us @AITCofficial MPs in police vans to police station. Bring in on BJP Bengans - you’ll be eaten by the Bengal Tigress @MamataOfficial pic.twitter.com/6JQmLQ7M15

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) January 9, 2026

TMC MP Derek O’ Brien also said, “You are seeing what is happening to the MPs here."

What kind of arrogance is this, @AmitShah ?

Are you now using your Delhi Police to assault elected representatives just to crush democracy? Is this how dissent is silenced in your India?

Admit it, YOU ARE RATTLED!

First, the shameless misuse of the ED. Now, an attack on the… pic.twitter.com/EMapOqkgKh

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) January 9, 2026

Why are TMC leaders angry with the ED?

The protest was triggered by ED searches on Thursday at multiple locations in Kolkata linked to I-PAC and its director, Pratik Jain. The agency said these operations were part of an evidence-based money-laundering investigation that is not linked to any political party or elections. It also accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of interfering in the probe and removing key evidence. 

TMC leaders, however, describe the raids as politically motivated and timed ahead of the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections. They claim sensitive party documents and campaign data were seized in the process. 

Banerjee has taken a strong public stance, denouncing the raids and promising protests across the state. On Thursday, she sat on a dharna outside the I-PAC office and called the action a threat to democratic freedom and an unfair tactic ahead of polls.