Abhishek Banerjee has maintained that he will cooperate with the probe agencies (File/ANI)
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate, or the ED, in connection with the investigation into the alleged teachers' recruitment scam in Bengal. The summons was sent yesterday, the Trinamool leader's birthday.
The TMC National General Secretary will appear before the agency at its Kolkata office tomorrow.
"Abhishek Banerjee has been called by the ED yet again tomorrow. He has to appear, and he has confirmed that he will go to the agency's office. It was his birthday yesterday and a birthday present from the ED - the summons - came to his office," senior TMC leader and Bengal Cabinet Minister Shashi Panja said.
"This is another witch hunt and an example of vendetta politics. The BJP leaves no stone unturned to prove every day that it is on their political signal that the investigative agencies are chasing all the non-BJP governments and rival political parties and in Bengal of course, especially Trinamool Congress and Abhishek Banerjee," Ms Panja said, adding that there is no substance in the allegations and that it was a ploy to create a negative perception about the Trinamool and Bengal till the Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier, Mr Banerjee was questioned by the agency in the case. He was interrogated by the financial probe agency for nine hours over the alleged school jobs scam in Bengal, following which the parliamentarian asserted that the interrogation was an attempt to stop him from attending the coordination committee meeting of the Opposition's INDIA bloc.
"The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is wasting its time. But I don't blame it. The agency's officials are doing this to please their political masters. Even if they question me for 72 hours continuously, I don't care since I have nothing to hide," he had said then.
While the TMC MP has maintained that he will cooperate with the probe agencies, he has also dared the ED to arrest him if they have any proof of corruption.