'Desperation To Harass And Target Me': Abhishek Banerjee On CBI Summons Despite SC Stay

This came after the CBI summoned Abhishek Banerjee tomorrow for questioning in the alleged teacher recruitment scam, just hours after the Supreme Court granted him respite in the case.

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Monday slammed the center over the CBI summons stating that in a desperate attemt to "harras," and "target" him, BJP has exposed CBI & ED against him. This came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned Abhishek tomorrow for questioning in the alleged teacher recruitment scam, just hours after the Supreme Court granted him respite in the case.

Slamming center, TMC MP tweeted: "In its desperation to ‘harass’ and ‘target’ me, BJP EXPOSES CBI & ED to CONTEMPT OF COURT! SC stayed the Calcutta HC’s order in the morn that granted permission to the Central Agencies to summon me. Yet, the ‘SUMMON’ was HAND-DELIVERED today at 1:45 pm Grave State of affairs!"

The CBI summons to Banerjee, which is based on a Calcutta High Court judgement, is likely to exacerbate tensions between opposition parties and the BJP-led government over alleged exploitation of federal agencies to target them.

The CBI recently questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as a witness in a case involving suspected corruption in the formulation of a spirits policy.

Opposition leaders accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of sending national agencies after them with bogus charges in a letter last month.

Before reports of the CBI summons to her nephew surfaced today, CM Banerjee stated that the central sends the CBI and other agencies whenever the opposition parties discuss unity for the national election in 2024.

They want to use the Arvind Kejriwal case to demonstrate that "look, this is what you get," stated CM Banerjee.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in July last year for his alleged participation in the teacher recruitment scam. In this case, the ED is following the money trail. Several education department personnel and local Trinamool leaders are also being held in connection with the matter.

The CBI probe was launched after several candidates claimed they were denied jobs after passing the Teachers' Eligibility Test in 2014. The Calcutta High Court also found anomalies in the West Bengal Board of Primary Education's recruitment of teachers.