ED issues fresh summons to Abhishek Banerjee; asks to join investigation

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh summon to Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. He has been asked to join the ED investigation on October 9, sources said.

The ED had earlier summoned Banerjee on October 3. However, Banerjee did not appear at the ED office on that date, owing to the party's MGNREGA protests in Delhi on the same date.

Banerjee alleged that it was a tactic used by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led central government to squash the protests.

"The fight against the deprivation of WB and its rightful dues shall persist regardless of the obstacles. No force on Earth can hinder my dedication to fight for the people of WB and their fundamental rights. I'll b in Delhi joining the protest on Oct 2nd & 3rd. STOP ME IF U CAN!" Banerjee said in a post on 'X'.

The TMC general secretary had also alleged that the ED was summoning on days when he had pre-announced public programs.

"Earlier this month, the ED summoned me on a day coinciding with an important coordinating meeting of #INDIA. I dutifully appeared and complied with the served summons," Banerjee pointed out in an earlier post on X.

The ED had summoned Abhishek Banerjee under section 50 of the PMLA. The summons to Banerjee came after the central probe agency conducted raids in the office of 'Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd' which the federal agency alleged was "used for making dubious transactions running into crores of rupees." The ED claimed that Banerjee is the chief executive officer of the company.

Banerjee was earlier summoned by the ED in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam in September.

Abhsihek Banerjee on Tuesday had led TMC protests against the Centre in Delhi over what the party said was the centre's refusal to provide funds to the state.

The TMC alleged that the Centre has been withholding Rs 15,000 crore in dues to the state under schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and PM Awas Yojana.

Several TMC leaders including Abhishek Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien were also detained by the Delhi Police during the protest.