"Done my duty": Abhishek Banerjee after ED questioning
Sep 13, 2023
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 13 : Following his questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that he has done his duty and answered all questions to the best of his abilities.
"I have done my duty, I have come to the ED office, joined the investigation, faced the questions, answered to the best of my abilities to the questions that were asked to me," Abhishek Banerjee said after ED's questioning on Wednesday.
"Eventually, I have also assured them that every time they call me, I will come and answer them and cooperate with the probe and the investigating agencies and officers to the best of my understanding and abilities," he added.
The TMC national general secretary said that the ED officials are wasting time and no conclusion will be reached like in previous instances when he was called for questioning.
"I have repeatedly said that they are wasting both their time and mine. It is not the fault of the agency officials. They are doing their duty. Even after nine-10 hours, there must have been zero conclusion. Every time I was called for questioning, the same conclusion had been reached," Banerjee said.
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Banerjee said, "Those who cannot fight politically misuse the agency in this way. Every time we are harassed, the public will support Trinamool Congress."
Banerjee, who was summoned by the ED in connection with the alleged recruitment scam, appeared before the agency office in Kolkata on Wednesday.
The summons to the TMC MP came weeks 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.
Reacting to the notice by the ED, the Trinamool leader said on Sunday that the notice required him to appear before the agency on September 13, the very day when the Opposition INDIA bloc’s coordination committee is scheduled to meet in Delhi.
Banerjee is a member of the INDIA grouping’s coordination committee and was scheduled to attend the meeting on Wednesday.
“FIRST meet of INDIA’s coordination comm (committee) is on 13th Sept in Delhi, where I’m a member. But @dir_ed conveniently served me a notice just now to appear before thm [them] on the VERY SAME DAY! One can’t help but marvel at the TIMIDITY & VACUOSNESS of the 56-inch chest model. #FearofINDIA,” Banerjee posted on X (formerly Twitter).