Kolkata: Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was questioned by Bhowanipore police for nearly four hours on Saturday in connection with an FIR for his social media post against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Banerjee arrived at 12.23 pm, seven minutes ahead of his scheduled summons, and left around 4.30 pm. Police sources said his response was being studied and he might be called again if needed.BJP workers raised “chor” (thief) slogans while Banerjee was inside. As he emerged from the police station, TMC supporters countered by accusing BJP of paying demonstrators to shout slogans, and attacked state govt over high unemployment and delay in the Annapurna scheme’s rollout.Banerjee was summoned in a May 27 FIR filed by one Arnabkanti Das, who alleged that in his May 2 post on X, the MP described CEC Kumar as a “puppet of an anti-Bengali Gujarati gang”.Police booked Banerjee under BNS provisions relating to promoting enmity, inciting violence, spreading rumours, provoking offences against the state and causing public disorder.Speaking to reporters after the questioning, Banerjee said: “Whenever officials have summoned me, I have gone. I am being called in various false cases. I am appearing because of the high court’s directive. If they call me again, I will go. Based on one post, they questioned me as much as they wanted and I cooperated.”The TMC MP also claimed to have explained why he said “Gujarati gang”. “BJP believes Bengali is not even a language; they say there is only a Bangladeshi language. Amit Malviya had called Bengali a Bangladeshi language,” he added.Banerjee also launched a sharp attack on CM Suvendu Adhikari, asking why he had not faced similar summons in the Narada case.Addressing the recent demolition drive outside his residence, Banerjee said while he did not object to the removal of govt structures or police camps, authorities must not jeopardise the livelihoods of local artisans. “Please do not evict those who are working along the footpaths here. If you want to run a bulldozer, run it over my house. If you want revenge, take it on me, because you cannot fight me politically,” he said.State minister Dilip Ghosh, reacting to Banerjee’s appearance before the police, said: “He has been summoned multiple times by ED, CBI and others earlier as well. This saga will continue.”Trinamool had failed to shed its “feudal” mindset even after its electoral defeat, Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said, adding: “There is a saying ‘rassi jal gayi, par bal nahi gaya.”Banerjee has also been summoned by Girish Park police on Nov 20 in a separate FIR over derogatory remarks and threats against a serving officer in the state.
