‘Misuse of Central agency had reverse effect, tripled people’s faith in TMC’
KOLKATA: With the recent CBI summon “forcing” Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to take a break from the party’s campaign, Trinamool believes that such “misuse” of Central agencies by the BJP at the Centre has only led to a further increase in footfalls in Nabajowar roadshows.
Recently, Abhishek paused the campaign halfway after he was summoned by the CBI which required him to appear before their Kolkata office “in less than 24 hours”.
He had just begun the Bankura leg of the campaign at that time but he promised to resume it from where he left it. Returning to the district, he said: “I had the good luck to speak to the people directly during the party’s campaign. All the 26 days that I have been on the road during the campaign is a time that will remain etched in my memory forever.”
He claimed that the alleged misuse of CBI or ED against TMC has had a reverse effect as people are coming out in greater numbers. “This is far more than the number that was apparent before I was summoned by the CBI. People’s
enthusiasm and support have increased threefold. I left the campaign at Bankura and resumed it from here. People realise the worth of promises made by Trinamool Congress,” he claimed.
Further, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Abhishek said: “My age is 36 years. If you multiply that by two then you get 72 which is the age of Modiji. He is double my age but if he thinks he wants to fight me using ED and CBI, then he should come and fight me in people’s court. Then let’s see who wins,” he challenged.
Abhishek alleged that BJP leaders had begun feasting after hearing that he is getting arrested. “The moment they heard I came out of the CBI office after nine hours of interrogation, they felt frustrated. They thought they will harass us by freezing the funds of Bengal and unleashing central agencies. Look at the number of times I have been summoned by these central agencies and yet I had claimed in Sonamukhi, Bankura that if they have the guts they should arrest me,” he said.
In a bid to increase the morale of the booth workers, Abhishek said that there is no reason to feel worried. He asserted that “no ED or CBI can stop us if people want Trinamool Congress to win”.