ED & CBI are the 2 biggest allies of BJP: Abhishek

New Delhi: After being interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths in New Delhi for over eight hours in connection to the coal scam, Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee on Monday reiterated that he would hang himself on a podium if proven guilty.

"We will not be cowed down. We will bow down before the people, not the people in power. I have nothing to hide," the Trinamool national general secretary said, alleging that he was being targeted as the BJP could not digest its defeat in the 2021 Assembly election in West Bengal.

"If you (BJP) want to fight, fight us politically, electorally. But they are using the CBI and the ED to win elections. You won't see ED raids in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Tripura or in states where they are in power. But you will see ED raids in Bengal and Maharashtra," Abhishek maintained.

He was accompanied by his security personnel and legal team. Officials said his statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he was confronted with some "evidences" gathered by the investigators.

Abhishek added that the two biggest allies of the BJP were " the ED and the CBI" and the summons would make him more determined in his resolve to take on the BJP. The Trinamool leader said summons had been issued to his wife Rujira Banerjee also but she won't be present on Tuesday as she has a two-year-old to look after at home.

According to reports, Abhishek had been asked to furnish some documents before the investigating officers to which, the MP had agreed. Without naming the BJP, he said: "Those who are using the ED and the CBI for their vested interests, I would like to tell them that I am made of a different material. The more they will try to harass me, I will become more determined," he added.

He also expressed his faith in the law and order system of the country. "I am cooperating with the investigators. But why are people, who were seen taking money on television in relation to the Saradha chit fund scam, not being probed? I am being summoned because I am from the Opposition party. The BJP leaders will not be summoned. But such discrepancies will not last long," he told the media.

The ED summons against the two came after the Delhi High Court on March 11 dismissed a plea by the couple challenging the agency notices asking them to appear in the national Capital instead of Kolkata. The Diamond Harbour MP was once questioned in this case in September last year.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police on Sunday had summoned three senior Enforcement Directorate personnel, including a senior official from Delhi, in connection with an audio-tape leak case.

The ED officials were asked to appear before sleuths of the detective department at Kalighat police station around noon on Monday, a senior police officer said.

The Kolkata Police is probing a case against a businessman, who was heard talking to an ED officer on topics like cattle smuggling and coal scam in a purported audio clip, which was leaked before the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections.