Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee was questioned for 11 hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of West Bengal in Kolkata on Monday in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam. Meanwhile, he was expected to appear before the Lok Sabha Speaker on a tight deadline to present his stand before a decision is made on TMC’s fate amid a revolt by party MPs.
The TMC is facing an existential crisis as 20 of the total 29 Lok Sabha MPs have rebelled to join the Indian National Citizens Party and signaled their support for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. The current number of TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha is 28, while by-elections are scheduled to be held in Basirhat due to the death of Nurul Islam.
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Lok Sabha Speaker’s two-hour deadline for Abhishek?
While Abhishek was appearing before the ED for questioning in the alleged teacher recruitment scam on Monday, the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office sent him an email at 2 pm, giving him a time limit of two hours to meet the Speaker in Delhi by 4 pm on the same day, news agency ANI reported, citing TMC sources.
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Abhishek has been asked to appear before the Speaker as the latter seeks to hear the arguments of both sides before taking a decision on the merger demand of the rebel TMC MPs, ANI reported, citing sources. Led by Kakoli Ghosh, 20 rebel MPs wrote in a letter to Speaker Om Birla on Sunday that they have merged with a little-known Tripura-based party NCPI (National Citizens Party).
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An hour after the email was sent, another TMC MP, Kirti Azad, was contacted by the Speaker’s office to inform him about the appointment, prompting him to visit the Speaker’s office himself and inform him that Abhishek would not be able to come on time as he was in the middle of the ED interrogation.
He then asked for a later date and time for the meeting and reiterated that Abhishek intends to “fully cooperate” with the proceedings of the Speaker’s Office.
Grilled for 19.5 hours by ED and CID
Most of Abhishek’s days lately are being spent either being frisked by investigating agencies or appearing before them after being summoned in multiple cases. On Sunday, he was questioned by the state CID for over 8 hours in a forged signature case regarding documents submitted by TMC to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker for appointment of LoP, which led to a revolt by TMC MLAs.
On Monday, he was questioned by the ED for about 11 hours in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam dating back to 2023.
After being questioned on Monday, Abhishek made strong statements, saying that he would not surrender even if his throat was “cut”.
“I was interrogated for 8 to 8.30 hours yesterday and for 11 hours today. This is a 2023 case, and I have appeared before the agency 10 to 12 times. I will not say whether there is political pressure or not. The less said about the BJP, the better. On the one hand, they are breaking our party and indulging in post-election violence. Even if my throat is cut, I will not tremble. I will appear before the agency if they are,” he told the media. They will even call me in the future.”
Abhishek’s investigation marathon continues
Keeping up with the marathon interrogation by various investigating agencies in various cases, Abhishek appeared before the West Bengal CID again on Tuesday, June 16, in connection with his allegedly inflammatory statements while campaigning for TMC during the state assembly elections.
The FIR in the case was lodged more than a month ago following a complaint filed by social activist Rajib Sarkar at the North 24 Parganas Bhagwati district police station, alleging that Abhishek had made provocative remarks about the violence after polling and counting of votes, Press TI reported, citing a senior officer.
The FIR reportedly refers to statements made by Abhishek during his election campaign between April 27 and May 3.
“He (the complainant) has claimed that some of the statements made during the public meetings were provocative in nature and had the potential to disturb public order and communal harmony,” the police officer said.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
