"I Have Nothing To Hide": Trinamool's Abhishek Banerjee Appears Before Probe Agency

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and submitted a reply to the probe agency's questions related to an ongoing probe into an alleged school jobs scam in West Bengal, along with supporting documents which ran into nearly 6,000 pages.

Mr Banerjee, after coming out of the ED office in Kolkata, said that he has nothing to hide and is always ready to cooperate with the central agency in its probe into the alleged school jobs scam in West Bengal.

The TMC leader who reached the ED office at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake around 11.10am and stayed for nearly an hour, though he was not questioned by the agency's officers, officials said.

"I have always cooperated with the ED for probe. I have nothing to hide. I will appear before the ED if I am summoned again. I have submitted my detailed reply with all necessary documents," he told reporters outside the central agency's office here.

Coming out in support of party MP Mahua Moitra, embroiled in 'cash-for-query' controversy, Mr Banerjee said whoever is questioning the government is being "harassed" by the BJP-led NDA dispensation at the Centre.

The TMC party has while supporting Mahua Moitra, has till now had a hands-off approach and at one stage even said they would await the Ethics committee's report on the issue.

Mr Banerjee's unequivocal support today seems to indicate the regional party will put all its weight behind her in the battle ahead for the MP who is combatting allegations of cash-for-questions.

The TMC leader lauded Mahua Moitra for being capable enough to fight the battle.

The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee looking into the "cash-for-query" allegations against TMC MP Mahua Moitra is learnt to have recommended her expulsion from the Lower House of Parliament on the grounds of "unethical conduct" having an impact on national security.

"Mr Banerjee was not asked any question today by our officers. He submitted the documents and left," an ED officer told PTI.

The probe agency will take a call on whether to summon the party's national general secretary again after verifying the documents, he added.

The Diamond Harbour MP was summoned by the central agency after he had skipped its October 3 summons to participate in a protest rally in New Delhi demanding the immediate release of MGNREGA dues to the state.

The ED had on September 13 questioned Mr Banerjee for nearly nine hours in the alleged school recruitment scam.

Earlier, the two-time TMC MP was questioned by the ED twice in a coal pilferage case, once in the agency's office in the national capital in 2021 and again in Kolkata in 2022.

Reacting to the developments, the CPI(M) on Thursday claimed that ED's summons to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee were an "eyewash".

"The ED summons to Mr Banerjee was an eyewash," CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said, expressing apprehension about the outcome of the probe.

"Mr Banerjee knew that he had nothing to fear," the CPI(M) leader said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)