On Monday, a trusted source within the TMC stated that Abhishek Banerjee would probably appear before the Enforcement Directorate on September 13. If he appears before the ED, the source told PTI on the condition of anonymity, he might have to miss the first meeting of the coordination committee for the opposition coalition “INDIA” of which he is a part. This meeting is scheduled to take place in the national capital on the same day.
When contacted, the source stated, “Abhishek Banerjee is likely to appear before the ED officials on September 13 at its city office here.”
Banerjee is a member of INDIA’s coordination panel and is regarded as the party’s de facto number two.
The TMC leader said on ‘X’ on Sunday that he has received notice from the main investigation agency to appear before it on September 13 for questioning.
Banerjee tweeted on X, “First meet of INDIA’s coordination committee is on September 13 in Delhi, in which I am a member. But, @dir_ed conveniently served me a notice just now to appear before them on the very same day! One can’t help but marvel at the timidity & vacuousness of the 56-inch chest model,” in a subtle jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After conducting raids at the city office of “Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd” in connection with the school jobs scam, the central investigation agency issued the summons to the TMC MP a few weeks ago. Banerjee is allegedly the company’s CEO, according to the ED.
He had previously been repeatedly subpoenaed by the ED about a livestock smuggling case, and in June he had informed the agency that he would be available for questioning after the July panchayat election in Bengal.