Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has firmly declared that he will not be attending the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) scheduled questioning in Kolkata on October 3. Instead, he intends to lead a protest rally in New Delhi, protesting the central government’s decision to withhold West Bengal’s dues under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
In a resolute statement, the TMC general secretary conveyed his unwavering commitment to defending West Bengal’s rightful dues, asserting, “The fight against the deprivation of WB and its rightful dues shall persist regardless of the obstacles. No force on Earth can hinder my dedication to fight for the people of WB and their fundamental rights. I’ll be in Delhi joining the protest on Oct 2nd & 3rd. STOP ME IF U CAN!” Banerjee shared this message on his social media platform, X, formerly Twitter.
This decision follows Banerjee’s earlier dig at the central government when he received a summons from the ED for questioning on October 3, coinciding with the TMC’s scheduled agitation in New Delhi over pending dues from the central government. Banerjee made his summons public by sharing the draft on X, humorously suggesting that it revealed those who had been “truly perturbED, rattlED and scarED!”
Abhishek Banerjee had previously been summoned by the ED in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam in September. The summons fell on the same day as the opposition INDIA bloc’s first Coordination Committee meeting in Delhi, of which Banerjee is a member. Consequently, he had to skip the meeting due to his obligation to appear at the ED’s Kolkata office.
Additionally, Banerjee, along with other TMC MPs, MLAs, and leaders, is set to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in the national capital on October 2, on the occasion of Gandhi’s birth anniversary. A TMC delegation will also meet Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh on October 3 to address the pressing issue of “non-release of dues” under MGNREGA.
Banerjee’s decision to prioritize the Delhi protest over his ED questioning underscores the political tensions and the significance of the pending dues issue for West Bengal.
Sources By Agencies
