ED summons Abhishek, his parents on Oct 3, day of ‘Delhi Chalo Protest’

Kolkata: To obtain details of the company Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Thursday, summoned Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is the CEO of the company, on October 3, the day he is scheduled to be present in Delhi to protest against Centre not clearing Bengal’s dues.

Abhishek’s parents Amit and Lata Banerjee, who are said to be the directors of the company, were also summoned to the CGO Complex with documents on a separate date.

The ED has been probing the teacher recruitment scam in the state and is trying to find links between the said company and the scam. Abhishek, who is also TMC’s national general secretary, was directed to appear at the office of the probe agency at CGO Complex in Salt Lake by 11 am on October 3.

On October 3, Abhishek is scheduled to be in Delhi to stage a protest against the Centre’s fund blockade. He is supposed to meet the Union Panchayat minister Giriraj Singh along with other TMC leaders.

The summon date has therefore led him to question the motive of the ED. The last time he was summoned on September 13 when he was supposed to be in Delhi to attend the INDIA bloc’s coordination committee meeting. He chose to answer the summon and skip the meeting. Earlier, he was summoned while he was leading TMC’s Nabajowar campaign in the run-up to the rural elections.

Abhishek wrote on his X account: “Earlier this month, the ED summoned me on a day coinciding with an important coordinating meeting of #INDIA in Delhi. I dutifully appeared and complied with the served summons. Now, today yet again they have served me another summons to appear before them on a day when the protest agitation for West Bengal’s rightful dues is scheduled in Delhi on 3rd Oct. This stark revelation unequivocally exposes those who are truly perturbED, rattlED and scarED!”

He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a post on X: “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”.

Recently, the ED was snubbed at Calcutta High Court by Justice Amrita Sinha for submitting inadequate information in its report on Leaps and Bounds and the company’s stakeholders. The matter is scheduled to come up in court on September 29.

However, TMC has lashed out at the BJP-led Centre on X: “BJP4India, how low will you stoop? First, you withhold the rightful dues of Bengal’s people and let them suffer. And now, you’re trying to SILENCE the voice of our people by summoning National GS Shri @abhishekaitc through your caged parrot @dir_ed on October 3rd, the day when a protest agitation is to take place in Delhi. There’s nothing more shameful than witnessing how one of the largest democracies in the world has been reduced to ashes in PM @narendramodi’s regime. But like always, WE WILL FIGHT BACK!”

“It’s high time that @BJP4India mends their ways. The fact that the day of the Delhi Protest coincides with the summons of Shri @abhishekaitc by @dir_ed cannot be dismissed as a mere coincidence. We strongly condemn these devious tactics,” Senior Trinamool Congress leader Chandrima Bhattacharya posted on X. Trinamool Congress has written on X: “We haven’t even set foot in Delhi yet, and they are already scared.”