Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday dismissed speculation about him joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), calling it an “illusion being spread” to mislead people. "Even if you slit my throat, the slogan ‘Mamata Banerjee Zindabad’ will still come out of my mouth. Some news was being circulated that Abhishek Banerjee will join BJP. I want to say that I will never bow down in front of the BJP," Banerjee said while addressing party workers.
He further warned party leaders against speaking out against TMC, stating that those who did so had already been identified. "Till the time all of you (TMC leaders) are with us, we will continue to demolish the chakravyuh of BJP...Those who spoke against the party have been identified. I was the one to identify Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari who went against the party."
Banerjee’s remarks come amid a fresh controversy surrounding his name in the multi-crore cash-for-school jobs scam in West Bengal. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in its third supplementary charge sheet, has mentioned an “Abhishek Banerjee” in connection with a 2017 recorded conversation discussing illegal appointments and bribes.
While the CBI did not explicitly identify the TMC MP, opposition parties have pointed out that the name matches that of Mamata Banerjee’s nephew. The charge sheet alleges a demand of ₹15 crore for illegal appointments and mentions an audio recording recovered during the probe.
Responding to the allegations, Banerjee’s lawyer Sanjay Basu released a statement dismissing the charge sheet as “misleading and unsubstantiated”. "The alleged third supplementary charge sheet is nothing more than a fishing expedition aimed at harassing my client. The CBI has failed to provide a shred of corroborative evidence, with no supporting documents appended to its claims," the statement read.
Banerjee accused the BJP of misusing central agencies like the CBI and ED for political vendetta, calling it an attempt to tarnish his reputation. "Despite my client’s full cooperation with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI – appearing whenever summoned and providing all necessary documents – the CBI has resorted to baseless allegations," the legal team stated.
"The CBI’s politically motivated narrative is a blatant attempt to tarnish my name. By inserting unverified statements into a case concerning others, the agency has raised serious concerns about the fairness of its investigation," he said. He vowed to fight the allegations head-on, stating that he “will not be intimidated” and will continue to expose the conspiracy against him.
CBI chargesheet in teacher recruitment scam
The 28-page charge sheet, filed by the CBI on February 21, has intensified the controversy by mentioning a person named Abhishek Banerjee in the multi-crore cash-for-school jobs scam. The document, a certified copy of which is in possession of PTI, indicts Sujay Krishna Bhadra, alias ‘Kalighater Kaku’, along with two others, for irregular teacher appointments in state-run primary schools through the 2014 Teachers Eligibility Test (TET).
The CBI identified Bhadra as the Chief Operating Officer of M/S Leaps and Bounds Private Limited, a company where Abhishek Banerjee was previously named CEO and served as a director for a limited period. The charge sheet refers to a 2017 meeting at Bhadra’s Behala residence, attended by accused Kuntal Ghosh, Shantanu Banerjee, Aurobindo Roy Barman, and Surajit Chanda. According to the CBI, Ghosh’s staff secretly recorded a conversation discussing the collection of bribes from ineligible candidates in exchange for manipulated job appointments.
The CBI claims that a dispute arose between Abhishek Banerjee and then-Education Minister Partha Chatterjee over these illegal appointments. The agency states that Sujay Krishna Bhadra was heard saying that Banerjee demanded ₹15 crore for the appointments already made. "When Sujay Krishna Bhadra expressed his inability to collect more money since the candidates had already paid ₹6.50 lakh each, Abhishek Banerjee told Sujay to stop their appointment or have them arrested or posted in distant locations," the CBI states on page 15 of the charge sheet.
Additionally, the CBI alleges that Bhadra, Shantanu Banerjee, and Kuntal Ghosh planned to collect ₹100 crore in bribes from 2,000 additional candidates. The amount was intended to be divided among Partha Chatterjee, Abhishek Banerjee, and co-accused TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya, with each allegedly set to receive ₹20 crore, while the remaining sum would be distributed among others involved.
(With inputs from PTI)