Kolkata, Nov 14 TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday alleged that investigating agencies never summoned Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for questioning in the Narada case, despite seeing him in the sting operation taking money, while he was repeatedly harassed through “false cases”.
Speaking to reporters outside his residence after being questioned by the police for nearly four hours in connection with an FIR over his social media post allegedly targeting CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the Gujarati community, Banerjee said he has responded to every summons and never evaded an investigation.
“In the last five years, no one saw Suvendu Adhikari, when he was the Leader of the Opposition, appear at a police station or before the CBI in connection with the Narada case, despite the allegations of accepting money, as he was protected by the high court. There is nothing against me, yet I am repeatedly being summoned in various false cases,” he claimed.
Banerjee suggested that his party respected the law and had not misused its position while in power.
Referring to the bulldozer drive earlier this week outside his Kalighat residence, the Diamond Harbour MP said he had no objection to the removal of government-built structures, including a police camp, but maintained that a memorial at the site should have been spared.
He, however, urged the administration not to evict people earning their livelihood by setting up stalls on the footpath.
“I am not from the BJP, but I request that those sitting here not be removed, as their livelihood depends on this. If you want to run a bulldozer, run it over me, not over the poor,” he said.
Alleging a political vendetta, Banerjee said, “You cannot fight politically, so sometimes it is a bulldozer, sometimes a police case, sometimes a false case.”
On investigations against him, he said he had appeared before the Shakespeare Sarani police, the CID, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI whenever summoned.
“I respect the law of the land. I am going as per the high court’s direction and have answered all their questions. I will go in future too if they call me, and cooperate to the best of my ability,” he said.
Banerjee was questioned at the Bhowanipore police station in connection with an FIR that was registered on May 27, alleging that the TMC leader, in a social media post, had described the CEC as a “puppet of the anti-Bengali Gujarati gang.
It was alleged that Banerjee’s remarks were irresponsible and potentially harmful to communal harmony and national integrity.
Defending his description of the BJP as “anti-Bengali”, Banerjee alleged that the party’s workers vandalised a statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in Kolkata and its leaders questioned the existence of the Bengali language.
He also claimed that the Centre had not given funds to West Bengal for the housing scheme, rural employment scheme and rural roads scheme over the last five years, while giving money to all other states.
On his “Gujarati gang” remark, he said it was a response to a social media post by BJP leader Amit Malviya, who he alleged had described Bengali as not being a language and instead called it a “Bangladeshi” one.
“I have tweeted, quoting his post. I have given my justification on who the ‘Gujarati gang’ are to the officers,” he said.
(PTI News)
