West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking before CJI Surya Kant at the Calcutta High Court’s Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench inauguration, urged the judiciary to protect the Constitution and democracy. Her remarks came amid the ED raids controversy involving I-PAC, with Banerjee alleging deliberate targeting by central agencies.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday made a strong but indirect attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and appealed to the judiciary to protect the Constitution and democracy from what she described as a “disaster”.
She was speaking at the inauguration of the new building of the Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri of the Calcutta High Court, in the presence of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
Addressing judges, lawyers and officials at the event, the Chief Minister stressed the importance of constitutional values, democratic institutions and unity in the country. Referring to the role of courts and other democratic pillars, she said,
“Nowadays, few things are important: the Constitution, citizens of this country, the judiciary, and the media. My humble regards to all of you, please take care of our new generation. The junior lawyers are struggling. They are not getting proper benefits. We want to see that they get proper benefits. My request to Chief Justice and all the judges is that please see, our Constitution must be protected from disaster, our democracy must be protected from disaster and our safety, security, history, geography and boundary – all should be protected.”
She further underlined that the judiciary has a special responsibility to uphold constitutional values and maintain social harmony. Emphasising unity beyond caste and religion, Banerjee stated,
“The judiciary is the custodian of our Constitution. It is our request on behalf of all the people of this country that there should not be any casteism or religionism. Let us work together, let us speak for unity, let us think for unity, let us work for unity,”
The Chief Minister also criticised the growing trend of what she called “media trials” and alleged misuse of central agencies to malign individuals even before cases are decided by courts. Making a direct appeal to the judiciary, she said,
“The media should not go for a media trial before finalising any cases. Nowadays, this is a trend of maligning people. So many agencies are defaming; there are deliberate attempts to defame. Please protect the people…Save democracy, save people, save democracy, save country, save constitution. We are under your custody. You are the guardians of the Constitution,”
Banerjee said.
She also accused the Union government of withholding funds meant for the state, but asserted that her government continued to strengthen the justice delivery system despite financial constraints. Referring to fast track courts, especially those dealing with women and child-related cases, she remarked,
“My Law Minister, please don’t mind, though the Government of India stopped this fund, we are continuing 88 fast track courts. Out of that, 52 are for women and seven POCSO courts,”
she stated.
Her comments come against the backdrop of recent controversy surrounding raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate at the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its chief Pratik Jain, in connection with an alleged coal smuggling case.
During the raids at Salt Lake in Kolkata, ED officials reportedly faced resistance. The central agency later claimed that the Chief Minister entered the premises during the search and removed “key” evidence linked to the investigation.
Banerjee has strongly denied the allegations and, in turn, accused the ED of exceeding its powers. She has claimed that the agency was attempting to illegally access documents belonging to her political party, calling the action a clear case of overreach by central authorities.
The episode has further intensified the ongoing political and legal confrontation between the West Bengal government and central investigative agencies, with Banerjee repeatedly projecting the judiciary as the final protector of constitutional rights and democratic values in the country.
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