A team from the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrived at the residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday, serving him a notice to appear at the state CID headquarters in Bhawani Bhawan on Monday afternoon. This development is part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged 'fake signature' scandal, where it has been claimed that the signatures of several TMC MLAs were forged on a party resolution proposing Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Vidhan Sabha.
Saturday marked Banerjee's first public appearance since the TMC was voted out of power, amid increasing internal party scrutiny over his leadership. The controversy stems from a meeting organized by TMC legislators at Kalighat on May 6 to propose Chattopadhyay as LoP. While the resolution reportedly carried the signatures of 70 MLAs, allegations surfaced that several legislators did not sign the document themselves, prompting an FIR to be lodged by the Bengal Assembly secretary at the Hare Street police station. The case was subsequently transferred to the CID, which has already questioned five TMC MLAs at their homes.
Upon accepting the notice, Banerjee stated that he would take appropriate steps after consulting his legal team. “They arrived with a notice, and I accepted it. I have received it, but I have not read it yet. I will take whatever appropriate steps are necessary after consulting my lawyer. If any cooperation is required from me, or if I am summoned, I will attend,” Banerjee said. The CID teams, accompanied by handwriting experts, are currently examining whether the signatures were forged. The issue escalated after Canning East MLA Baharul Islam claimed he did not attend the May 6 meeting and therefore could not have signed the document.
Earlier on Saturday, around 2:15 pm, a team of four CID officers reached Banerjee's Harish Mukherjee Road residence (Santiniketan) to serve the notice. However, he was not at home, as he was meeting the family of deceased TMC worker Biswajit Pattanayak at Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh's office. The CID team later met Ghosh in the afternoon. After waiting for several minutes at the residence, the officers were informed that Banerjee was unavailable. Around 2:35 pm, Banerjee arrived at his Kalighat Road home, telling reporters, “I stay in Kalighat. If they want to meet me, I am here.” Within 10 minutes, two officers and a photographer arrived to meet him. Sources said Banerjee initially requested them to hand the notice to his personal assistant, but eventually came down to receive it personally after the officers insisted on delivering it to him in person.
Terming the development an act of “political vendetta and abuse of power,” Banerjee asserted he would not bow down to “pressure tactics.” “They could not intimidate me before, and I am not someone who will bow my head in the future either. I have nothing to hide. In the past, whenever the ED or CBI summoned me — even to Delhi — I always cooperated with the probe. I never ran away,” the Diamond Harbour MP said. “If anyone thinks that by summoning us, intimidating us, falsely implicating us in fake cases, and sending us to jail, they can force us to bow our heads, they are mistaken. Even if you cut my throat, I will not bow down.”
Taking a dig at party colleagues who switched camps before and after the polls, he added: “Not everyone joins the BJP by flattering Amit Shah to serve their political interests. Those who deliver grand speeches today about eradicating corruption are the same people who have two, three, or four ED and CBI cases hanging over their heads. In the past, no CM of Bengal was ever seen on television stretching out a hand to take money like a shopkeeper accepting cash.” He also questioned the fairness of the police probe, pointing out that while an FIR was filed against him for speaking against Shah, no action was taken against Shah or other BJP MLAs for making similar comments against TMC workers.
“We are not traitors. If they have the power, let them arrest me. I will fight legally. If you want to implicate me in false cases and arrest me, then go ahead. The CID is yours, the ED is yours, the CBI is yours, Kolkata Police is yours, West Bengal Police is yours — take me away. I am not running. I am right here,” he said.
Reacting to a KMC notice regarding alleged unauthorized extensions, deviations from sanctioned building plans, and missing permits for lifts and escalators at his Harish Mukherjee Road home, Banerjee said: “The KMC issued a notice stating that there are deviations in my house. The notice says: ‘Enclosed, please find the brief with regard to the deviation and other details’. However, no brief or details were actually provided to me. I have already replied to that notice and legally challenged it by filing a case in the Calcutta High Court on Friday. The matter is now sub-judice and will be decided by the court.”
