Abhishek Banerjee was questioned by the ED for around 11 hours in the teacher recruitment case.
The Speaker’s office asked him to appear by 4pm while he was still before the ED.
Rebel TMC MPs wrote to Om Birla claiming merger with NCPI and support for the NDA.
Abhishek Banerjee Faces ED, CID Heat Amid TMC Crisis
The TMC MP was questioned by the ED and CID as rebel party MPs sought the Speaker’s recognition for their claimed merger with NCPI.
Summary
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee is facing pressure on two fronts, with questioning by probe agencies running alongside a parliamentary crisis for his party.
Banerjee was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in Kolkata for around 11 hours on Monday in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam. While he was still before the agency, the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office reportedly sent him an email at 2pm, asking him to meet Speaker Om Birla in Delhi by 4pm the same day.
The Speaker is expected to hear both sides before taking a call on the request made by rebel Trinamool MPs. According to the report, 20 of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs have rebelled and written to the Speaker saying they had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, a little-known Tripura-based party. They have also indicated support for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Trinamool has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha at present. A bypoll is due in Basirhat after the death of Nurul Islam.
Since Banerjee was in the middle of ED questioning, Trinamool MP Kirti Azad went to the Speaker’s office after receiving a call about the appointment. He conveyed that Banerjee would not be able to attend at such short notice and sought another date and time. He also said Banerjee intended to cooperate with the Speaker’s office.
Banerjee has also been questioned by the West Bengal CID. On Sunday, he appeared before the CID for more than eight hours in a forged signature case linked to documents submitted by Trinamool to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker for the appointment of the Leader of Opposition. On Tuesday, he again appeared before the CID, this time over alleged inflammatory remarks made during the state assembly poll campaign.
The FIR in that case was filed after a complaint by social activist Rajib Sarkar at Baguiati Police Station in North 24 Parganas. The complaint alleged that remarks made by Banerjee during public meetings between April 27 and May 3 were provocative and could affect public order and communal harmony.
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After Monday’s ED questioning, Banerjee told reporters that he had faced questioning for around eight to eight-and-a-half hours the previous day and 11 hours that day. He said the teacher recruitment case dated back to 2023 and that he had appeared before the agency several times. He also said he would appear again if summoned.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)
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