Congress welcomed ED grilling of Abhishek Banerjee, it should do so for Rahul Gandhi: TMC

Tripura Congress president Birajit Sinha lashed out at TMC, stating that the Abhishek was an accused in multiple cases, unlike Gandhi

The TMC on Monday exhorted Congress members to refrain from holding protests over ED summonses to the grand old party's top leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in a case of financial impropriety as "law must take its own course".

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh pointed out that Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury, too, had taken a similar stance when the Mamata Banerjee-led party's MP, Abhishek Banerjee, was grilled by central agency officials as part of the probe into a coal pilferage case.

Tripura Congress president Birajit Sinha, however, lashed out at Ghosh, stating that the "TMC MP was an accused in multiple cases, unlike Gandhi, and the two issues cannot be compared".

Sinha did not mention the cases that he was referring to in his statement against Banerjee.

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Talking to reporters, Ghosh said, "We have nothing to say on the Enforcement Directorate's summons to Rahul Gandhi. The Congress and the CPI(M) had welcomed CBI and ED questioning of Abhishek Banerjee.

"They had said that the law should take its own course. If that is Chowdhury's stand, he should ideally be accompanying Gandhi to the ED office."

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi faced ED officials during the day, while his mother and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, sought time citing her ill health as reason.

Activists of the grand old party staged protests across the country on Monday claiming that central agencies were being "misused" to harass its leaders.

Maintaining that the Congress was working as the 'B team' of the BJP in West Bengal, Ghosh said one party should not be having two points of view on the same subject.

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"When the TMC had raised its voice against the misuse of central agencies by the Centre, the leaders of the Congress and the CPI(M) seemed to be in no mood to listen. That’s why the two parties have almost become non-existent in Bengal," he stated.

Ghosh promised that if the TMC gets the mandate of people in Tripura next year, all welfare schemes introduced in West Bengal will be extended to northeastern state.

Meanwhile, slamming Ghosh over his remarks, Sinha alleged, "The nation knows that didi (Mamata Banerjee) shook hands with (prime minister) Modiji under the table to save her nephew (Abhishek). Rahul Gandhi was summoned by the ED, despite not being involved in any corruption. The two cases are different."