TMC's Abhishek Banerjee Confirms ED Appearance On Sep 13, To Skip I.N.D.I.A's Coordination Meeting

The timing of the ED summon coincides with the first meeting of the opposition's 'I.N.D.I.A' coordination committee, a bloc of which TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee is a member.

Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday confirmed that he will appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 13, conveying his willingness to cooperate with the central investigative agency. Banerjee, often regarded as the second-in-command within the TMC, responded affirmatively when asked about his intention to appear before the ED on the appointed date. This decision comes after Banerjee announced via a social media platform that he had received a notice from the central probe agency, instructing him to present himself for questioning on September 13.

In a brief statement to news agency PTI, he simply said, "Yes."

However, the timing of the summons coincides with the first meeting of the opposition's 'I.N.D.I.A' coordination committee, a bloc of which Banerjee is a member. Consequently, Banerjee will forgo the committee's first gathering in Delhi to fulfill his commitment to the Enforcement Directorate, PTI reported citing sources within the TMC.

Taking to 'X' on Sunday, Banerjee expressed his dismay at the timing of the notice and appeared to take a veiled swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He wrote, "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."

The summons directed at the TMC Member of Parliament follows recent ED raids at the offices of 'Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd' in Kolkata, related to an alleged school jobs scam. The ED asserted that Banerjee serves as the chief executive officer of the company.

The appearance on September 113 won't be Banerjee's first encounter with the ED as he had been summoned multiple times in connection with a cattle smuggling case. However, he declined to cooperate when summoned in June, citing his busy schedule during a mass outreach campaign and the July panchayat poll in West Bengal. At that time, Banerjee had expressed his availability for questioning after the rural elections, PTI reported.

In May, the TMC leader faced nine hours of questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to the same scam case.