90 percent of CBI’s questions bogus & irrelevant, says Abhishek

MP | 21 May 2023 | Kolkata: After almost nine hours of interrogation, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is acting partially while claiming that 90 per cent of the questions asked to him were bogus and irrelevant. 

The Trinamool Congress national general secretary appeared before the CBI at the Nizam Palace on Saturday amidst tight security and faced marathon questioning in connection with the school recruitment scam. 

Before reaching the CBI office, Abhishek wrote a letter to the central agency informing it of his decision to move the Supreme Court challenging the high court order which allows investigative agencies (the CBI and the ED) to question him. 

In his letter to the CBI, Abhishek wrote: “At the very onset, I state that I am rather shocked to find that the notice under reference was served upon me on 19.05.2023 in the afternoon, directing me to appear before your office at Kolkata at 11.00 am on 20.05.2023, providing me less than a day’s time to comply.” 

He also stated that he was amidst a two-month-long state-wide campaign to connect with the people of Bengal. The CBI sent a notice to Abhishek on Friday afternoon urging him to appear at the agency’s office at 11 am on Saturday. 

He reached the CBI office at around 11 am and questioning continued till late evening. Addressing the media outside the Nizam Palace office of the CBI at around 8.40 pm, Abhishek said the central agency has wasted both his time as well as theirs. He said he was asked to identify certain persons in connection with the SSC recruitment corruption case but most of these persons belonged to two particular districts — East Midnapore and Murshidabad. 

Abhishek said he doesn’t recognise any of these people but remarked that the CBI should have instead called the person who was in charge of the East Midnapore district while he was in TMC. Abhishek was alluding to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. 

Further, Abhishek added that the CBI is acting partially by not calling people who have been named in the Narada FIR or ones who were named by the Saradha kingpin Sudipto Sen. Instead, the central agency has chosen to call him based on Kuntal Ghosh’s statements. Abhishek said the BJP is desperately trying to foil the Naba Jowar campaign and hence using such tactics. 

“I would request the central agencies to kindly not harass me every time by calling to their office. Instead, if they can find any evidence against me, they can take me straight to the gallows. 

Earlier too, I have been called many times by the central agencies but they have found nothing against me,” he said. He once again said it is the central agency’s compulsion to interrogate him as they are working at the behest of the Centre. 

Terming them as the “Centre’s detergent powder”, Abhishek said if he was summoned only after Kuntal had taken his name, then why shouldn’t the CBI interrogate Adhikari who was caught taking money on camera or even Sudipto Sen who had also mentioned in his letter that he had given money to Adhikari. 

“Sudipto Sen had taken the names of Suvendu Adhikari, CPI(M)’s Sujan Chakraborty and Congress’ Adhir Chowdhury. None of them have been summoned by the CBI. The Saradha scam’s main accused is in BJP. Why doesn’t the CBI not interrogate them,” Abhishek said. In reply to a question, he said: “Why won’t Union Home minister Amit Shah take any action against Adhikari who was caught on camera taking bribe. 

Does the BJP have a washing machine to clean them off? Are they (Centre) using the agencies as detergent powder.” Abhishek said he did not even utter the name of Kuntal Ghosh in his meeting on March 29 and hence did not understand the need for questioning him based on what Kuntal had said. “During my public meeting, 

I had categorically named Madan Mitra and Kunal Ghosh who shared with me later that they were pressurised by the central agency to take my name.” 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/90-percent-of-cbis-questions-bogus-irrelevant-says-abhishek-519343