Abhishek Banerjee. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 4 issued a fresh summons to Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to appear before the central probe agency on October 9 in a school jobs scam.
Mr. Banerjee was earlier asked to appear before the agency on October 3, but the Trinamool Congress MP did not turn up since he was leading his party’s protest in Delhi.
According to ED officials, Mr. Banerjee’s wife Rujira Banerjee has also been summoned for questioning in the school jobs scam on October 11. Summons have been issued to the party leader’s mother Lata Banerjee on October 6 and father Amit Banerjee to appear on October 7.
During the investigation of the school jobs scam, the name of a company Leaps and Bounds has cropped up. Mr. Banerjee and certain other members of his family had served as directors of the company in the past. The Calcutta High Court had directed ED to furnish the property details of the directors of the company. The school jobs scam involves irregularities in the recruitment process through which thousands of jobs in state-run schools were given for monetary gains.
The summons comes at a time when Mr. Banerjee is leading the party’s protest to Delhi over the denial of funds under MGNREGS and PM Awas Yojana. The Trinamool general secretary held protests in Delhi on October 2 and October 3. On October 3, Mr. Banerjee and other party leaders were dragged out of Krishi Bhawan when they went to meet Union Minister of State Sadvi Niranjan Jyoti.
March to Raj Bhavan
During the day, Mr. Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress leaders returned to Kolkata. Speaking to journalists, the party general secretary said that the ED is conducting raids only in Opposition-ruled States.
“My family has been called earlier also. My wife and sister-in-law were summoned. This has been going on for two years. If there is anything, then the investigation agency should submit it in the court,” the Trinamool Congress leader said responding to the question on summons issued to him and his family members.
The Trinamool Congress has called for a march to Raj Bhavan on Thursday with Mr. Banerjee stating that the party will seek time from Governor C V Ananda Bose.
“We will hope that the Governor will meet us. The letters which we took to Delhi, we will give these letters to him,” the Diamond Harbour MP said.
Mr. Banerjee said that there are no rules under which payment of wages to the people who had worked under MGNREGS could be stopped. The party had taken about 2,500 people, who had worked under the rural job provision scheme but were denied wages, to the national capital. Funds under MGNREGs to West Bengal have been stopped by the Ministry of Rural Development since December 2021 on grounds of alleged corruption in the implementation of the scheme in the State.
In a development later in the day, the Raj Bhavan said the Governor, who is on a trip to Delhi, will leave for north Bengal from the national capital to visit flood-affected areas of the Teesta river basin.
“Hon’ble Governor, who cut short his visit, will leave Delhi tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m. for North Bengal to visit flood-affected areas,” a Raj Bhavan, Kolkata communication said.