India, Jan. 8 -- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday threw down a direct challenge to the BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, daring him to come to the state and take her on "democratically," as political tensions escalated ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

Her remarks followed dramatic scenes outside the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), where the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches in connection with an alleged fake government job scam. Banerjee arrived at the premises during the operation and accused the central agency of illegally seizing party-related data and documents.

"If Amit Shah wants Bengal, he should come, fight democratically ...