TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee appears before ED in connection with Bengal school jobs scam

Abhishek Banerjee, TMC MP and national general secretary, appeared before ED on Wed. to provide evidence in connection with school recruitment irregularities. He filed a supplementary affidavit before Calcutta High Court, claiming fresh summons issued by ED is "bad in law". ED is conducting a fishing and roving inquiry to rope him into teacher recruitment scam.

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with its probe into the alleged school jobs scam in West Bengal, officials said.

Mr. Banerjee, the party's national general secretary, reached the ED office here around 11.30 a.m., they said.

“Mr. Banerjee has been called to provide evidence in connection with the school recruitment irregularities. Our officers are also likely to ask him a few questions in connection with the scam,” an ED official told PTI.

The Diamond Harbour MP skipped the coordination committee meeting of the opposition bloc INDIA, scheduled on Wednesday in Delhi, as he appeared before the ED sleuths.

Mr. Banerjee had on Tuesday filed a supplementary affidavit before the Calcutta High Court, claiming that a fresh summons issued to him by the ED, when his revisional application challenging earlier summons by the agency is pending, is “bad in law”.

Stating that the TMC MP has been summoned on Wednesday "to give evidence", the affidavit said Mr. Banerjee has not only challenged the entire investigation qua (in the capacity of) him, but also the previous summons issued to him by the agency, in a revisional application filed by him before the high court.

Mr. Banerjee alleged in the supplementary affidavit that the ED has "initiated and embarked upon a fishing and roving inquiry to rope in the petitioner into the domain of the alleged teacher recruitment scam".