Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday, May 20 appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the West Bengal school job scam. Mr. Banerjee was questioned for over nearly nine hours at CBI office at Kolkata’s Nizam Palace for over nine hours. He arrived at the CBI office at around 11 am and let the venue at about 8.30 pm.
Speaking to journalists after the questioning, Mr. Banerjee said the questioning was a waste of time for him as well as those who questioned him. “ I had promised full coperation to the agencies and I answered all questions.... I will not bring what was asked in public domain but some names were raised of which 90 % were from Purba Meduinipur and Murshidabad. We all know who was in charge of these district,” the Trinamool leader said, referring to Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari. Mr. Banerjee said that if he were to join BJP then no agency would target him. Accusing the BJP government of Centre of political vendatta he said that attempts are being made to stop the Trinamool Congress’s outreach progamme.
The agency has issued summons to the Diamond Harbour MP on Friday, May 19, after the Calcutta High Court dismissed his petition seeking recall of a previous order of the same court which said that investigative agencies such as CBI and ED could interrogate him in the teacher recruitment scam.
Before his appearance before the agency Mr. Banerjee wrote to the CBI citing that he has preferred Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court challenging Calcutta High Court Justice Amrita Sinha order and the same shall be mentioned before the Supreme Court for urgent hearing on May 22 or when the court permits.
The Trinamool’s second in command had to suspend the party’s outreach initiative in Bankura to appear before the agency on Saturday. Mr. Banerjee on Friday had dared the CBI to arrest him. He has said that for the past three years the central agencies were trying to frame him first in coal (pilferage scam), then in cattle (smuggling) and now SSC (school service commission) recruitment scam.
While summons to Mr. Banerjee have been issued in the past by the CBI as well as the Enforcement Directorate in the coal pilferage scam, the name of the Trinamool leader in the recruitment scam came up last month, when an accused Kuntal Ghosh wrote to the Court alleging that he was threatened by the agencies to name Mr. Banerjee.
Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, in his order on April 13, said that accused Kuntal Ghosh could be questioned by the central agencies along with Mr. Banerjee. The Supreme Court on April 28 urged the then acting chief justice of the Calcutta High Court T.S. Sivagnanam to reassign two cases Soumen Nandy versus the State of West Bengal and Ramesh Malik versus State of West Bengal to a separate Bench. The matter was listed before Justice Amrita Sinha who refused to grant any relief to Mr. Banerjee in connection with appearing before the investigating agencies.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that an “ageny raj” of the an authoritarian govenment at the centre makes our task challenging,
“On this day, in 2011, we were sworn in to replace a 34- year- old monster regime and to usher in the Ma Mati Manush government in West Bengal. We renew the pledge today and re- dedicate ourselves to the cause of the people. The agency-raj of an authoritarian govenment at the centre makes our task challenging, but millions over the country are with us in our march. Long live 20 May” Ms. Banerjee said on social media.
During the day Enforcement Directorate held raids at different properties and residence of Sujay Krishna Bhadra alias ‘Kalighat er Kaku‘ (Kalighat’s uncle) as he is popularly known as. Mr. Bhadra is considered close to Trinamool Congress had in March 15 appeared before the CBI in the school job scam. Search was held at over a dozen of places including at the residence of Mr. Bhadra in Behala and various areas in Diamond Harbour, the constituency represented by Mr. Banerjee
