ED summon meant to stop me from attending I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who was Wednesday quizzed by the ED for nine hours over the alleged school jobs scam in West Bengal, asserted that the interrogation was an attempt to stop him from attending the coordination committee meeting of the I.N.D.I.A I.N.D.I.A bloc.

He also said the ED action was testimony of the “vital role” the Trinamool Congress was playing in forging opposition unity.

'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 as I have nothing to hide,' Banerjee told reporters here.

The TMC national general secretary challenged the central agency to submit his statement before the court.

'The ED summon was sent so that I can't attend the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting. It is testimony of the vital role the TMC is playing in forging opposition unity,' he said, coming out of the agency’s office here.

Banerjee was questioned by the agency officials from 11.30 am to 8.40 pm.

'He was called to provide evidence in connection with the school recruitment irregularities,' an ED official said.

Banerjee also alleged that the BJP was attempting to stop the TMC from playing its role in the INDIA coalition.

'The I.N.D.I.A bloc will continue its fight against the BJP till it is ousted from power,' he said.

Questioning the credibility of the central probe agencies, which are “yet to solve the Saradha scam in the last nine years”, the TMC leader said whenever there is an important political event or an election, he is summoned “just to harass me”.

The Diamond Harbour MP skipped the coordination committee meeting of the I.N.D.I.A bloc in Delhi as he appeared before the agency sleuths.

Banerjee accused the central agencies of being involved in a political witch-hunt, asserting that the 'BJP will pay for its sins once the I.N.D.I.A bloc comes to power”.

'Sending summons is a waste of time, both for the investigating agency and for me. It won't give back the Dhupguri seat, which the BJP lost to us in the bypoll. This summon is a sign of frustration of the BJP,' the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee claimed.

While the TMC MP maintained that he wanted to cooperate with the probe agencies, Banerjee dared the ED to arrest him if there was any proof of corruption.

'They have been probing many cases in Bengal for the last several years. They should arrest me if there is any proof against me,' he said.

The summons to Banerjee come weeks after the central probe agency conducted raids in the city office of 'Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd' in connection with the school jobs scam. The ED has claimed that Banerjee is the chief executive officer of the company.

'This is a sinister attempt to prove that the ill-gotten money in the school jobs scam was routed through this company. Let the central agencies prove it,' he asserted.

The TMC leader also criticised the ED for “never” sending summons to BJP leaders accused of corruption.

'Let the central agencies first arrest Suvendu Adhikari (BJP leader) in the Narada case...' he said.

Reacting to the remarks, BJP West Bengal spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said the allegations were baseless and that Banerjee should tell in court whatever he has to say.

Meanwhile, speaking on the ‘India versus Bharat’ name change row, the TMC MP said these are attempts to divert the attention of people from key issues.

'This narrative is orchestrated by the BJP to divert attention from its failures, such as rampant inflation, communal bigotry, border disputes and other empty rhetorics. They have created this debate just because the opposition alliance has been named I.N.D.I.A,' he said.