Trinamool Congress MP and Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee has been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) tomorrow for questioning in the teachers' recruitment scam hours after the Supreme Court gave him relief in the case.
The summoning of Banerjee by the CBI is likely to escalate the tension between opposition parties and the BJP-led center over the alleged misuse of central agencies to target them.
"In its desperation to harass & target"
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Banerjee took to Twitter and along with images of the summon said, “In its desperation to 'harass' and 'target' me, BJP exposes CBI & ED to contempt of court! SC stayed the Calcutta HC's order in the morning that granted permission to the Central Agencies to summon me. Yet, the summons was hand-delivered today at 1:45 pm. Grave state of affairs.”
Slamming the agencies, TMC spokesperson and state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said that the CBI should also arrest Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari as his name is in the chargesheet of the CBI.
Former police officer Salil Bhattacharya said that the summon can be a ‘bonafied mistake’.
Just yesterday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was questioned by the CBI as a witness in a case related to alleged corruption in framing a liquor policy.
Last month, opposition leaders wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing his government of using false cases and sending central agencies after them. At a CBI event in Delhi, PM Modi urged the agency to spare no one in the fight against corruption, saying that the country stands with them.
Mamata claims Centre sends CBI whenever they discuss Oppn unity
Prior to reports of her nephew's CBI summons, Mamata had stated that the Centre tends to send the CBI and other agencies after opposition parties whenever they discuss unity for the 2024 national election.
She added that the Arvind Kejriwal case is being used as an example to show the consequences of opposing the government. Last year, former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his alleged involvement in the teacher recruitment scam, and several officers of the education department and local Trinamool leaders are also in custody.
The CBI's investigation into Abhishek came after candidates who claimed they were denied jobs despite qualifying for the Teachers' Eligibility Test in 2014 sought relief. The Calcutta High Court also noted irregularities in the appointments of teachers by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education.
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