Kolkata, April 19 -- Amid reports that political consultancy firm I-PAC has temporarily halted operations in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Sunday assured protection and jobs for those linked to the organisation, even as her party termed the claims of an "operational halt" "baseless".

Addressing party workers, Banerjee accused the BJP of targeting agencies working for TMC and trying to drive them out of the state. "You are asking agencies working for us to leave Bengal. Why? You have 50 agencies, we have one (I-PAC). If they are threatened, they will join my party. We will give them jobs. I will not let anyone lose employment," she said, adding she had spoken to her party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee earlier. She warned of countermeasures if intimidation continued.

Her remarks follow reports that I-PAC employees were placed on a 20-day temporary break, with further communication expected after May 11. Internal communication, sources said, urged employees to remain patient as the organisation cooperates with legal proceedings, assuring justice in due course.

However, the TMC rejected claims of any operational halt. In an official statement, the party said:

"We have come across a media report claiming that IPAC has 'halted its operations in West Bengal for the next 20 days.' This claim is completely baseless and appears to be a deliberate attempt to create confusion on the ground. IPAC WB team remains fully engaged with AITC, and campaign operations are continuing as planned across the state. These narratives are a deliberate attempt to distract from the clear mood on the ground. The people of Bengal are fully capable of seeing through these attempts and will respond democratically. West Bengal will not be swayed by misinformation or intimidation. They will respond decisively on the 23rd and 29th, and the results on May 4 will reflect their verdict."

The controversy comes amid an ongoing probe by the Enforcement Directorate into alleged money laundering involving I-PAC. The agency arrested Vinesh Chandel, founder and director of Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, citing proceeds of crime worth around Rs 50 crore. It has also summoned the wife and brother of I-PAC co-founder Pratik Jain, while related proceedings are pending before the Supreme Court of India.

The ED has reportedly summoned Rishi Raj Singh, another director of I-PAC in connection with its probe into an alleged financial irregularities case. He has been asked to appear at the agency's headquarters in New Delhi on Monday

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.