ED summons TMC MP Abhishek, parents in school jobs probe

This is the first time that his parents Amit Banerjee and Lata Banerjee, directors in Leaps & Bounds, the company which is under the ED’s scanner in the recruitment case, have been summoned in the case.

The agency, which is probing the money laundering angle in the alleged irregularities in the appointment of staff in government schools, had questioned Abhishek at its Kolkata office for nearly nine hours on September 13, the day the TMC leader was to attend the coordination meeting of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc alliance in the national capital.

Hitting out at the BJP government at the Centre over the latest summons, the TMC MP wrote on X, “Earlier this month, the ED summoned me on a day  coinciding with an important coordinating meeting of #INDIA in Delhi. I dutifully appeared and complied with the summons. Now, today yet again they have served me another summon to appear…when the agitation for West Bengal’s rightful dues is scheduled in Delhi on 3rd Oct. This stark revelation unequivocally exposes those who are truly perturbED, rattlED and scarED.”

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also criticised the BJP for allegedly targeting Banerjee.  “It has become the ED’s culture to call Abhishek Banerjee whenever he has a political meeting. It shows that he is being targeted politically. He was first called when the INDIA alliance was to hold a meeting and now he is being summoned on October 3 when he is to hold a dharna in Delhi. It is a conspiracy and a case of political vendetta,” Ghosh said.

TMC MP Santanu Sen said, “It has been proved one more time as how the BJP is suffering from Abhishek Banerjee phobia. They are scared of him politically. They don’t understand that the more they do this, the more support the TMC will get from people on the ground.”

Reacting to the TMC’s allegations, BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “He (Abhishek) wouldn’t have reacted this way if he had nothing to hide. Every time he is called for a probe, he moves the court seeking non-coercive action against him. There is something wrong here.”

Sources in the TMC said that Abhishek will participate in the October 3 dharna and has sought time to appear before the ED.

On September 14, the Calcutta High Court had directed the ED to submit property details of Banerjee and Leaps and Bounds, whose name surfaced during the probe into the multi-crore recruitment scam. The court had also sought the names and property details of actors whose names are under scanner in the case.