TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday issued fresh summons to Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to appear before the agency in connection with the school jobs scam on November 9. The Trinamool leadership said that Mr. Banerjee will appear before the investigating agency on Thursday in Kolkata.
The Trinamool leader has been summoned by the agency in connection with cases both by the ED and CBI, multiple times. The ED had earlier summoned the Diamond Harbour MP to appear before it on October 9, after he skipped the October 3 summons to participate in a Trinamool Congress protest rally in the national capital, demanding immediate release of Central funds due to the State.
The school job scam wherein appointments in State-run schools were made illegally for monetary gains had rocked West Bengal politics since July 2023. Several leaders of Trinamool Congress including former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee are behind bars for their alleged involvement in the scam .
Speaking on the issue Trinamool Congress spokesperson and State’s Minister Sashi Panja said that the summons was an attempt of ‘witch hunt’ and ‘harassment’ to the Trinamool leader ahead of Lok Sabha election.
State BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said the party does not believe in vendetta politics. He stated that summoning by Central agencies is happening under the supervision of the court, and if the Trinamool leadership may approach the courts if they have any issues.
Meanwhile, in another development there were raids by the Income Tax department at the properties of Bishnupur MLA Tanmoy Ghosh, including his rice mills. Ghosh who was elected on a BJP ticket in 2021 Assembly election but in August 2021 defected to the Trinamool. The IT raids on the MLA also became a subject of political slugfest between Trinamool Congress and the BJP.