Published 22:54 IST, February 21st 2021
'Bengal taught me how to fight like a tiger': Mamata slams CBI's notice to Abhishek's wife
Remarking that 'those who have fought against guns, did not fear fighting a rat', Mamata Banerjee stated that her family could not be 'intimidated' by jail.Â
After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sent a summons to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee's wife in connection with a coal scam, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the development saying that it is not easy to break their spine. Remarking that 'those who have fought against guns, did not fear fighting a rat', Mamata Banerjee stated that her family could not be 'intimidated' by the jail.
"There are some leaders (in Delhi) who said they knew how to break the spine of Bengal. It is not easy to break our spine. Bengal taught me to fight bravely like a tiger. We cannot be intimidated with jail. The people who have fought against guns do not fear fighting a rat," she said while addressing an event at the Deshapriya Park.
CBI summons Abhishek Banerjee's wife
In a massive development involving the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday summoned the wife of Chief Minister Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the high-profile coal smuggling scam. Arriving at the TMC MP's residence with a notice on Sunday, the Kolkata CBI officers asked Banerjee's wife to join the probe. Notably, the summon has come days after the central agency conducted raids across five locations in poll-bound West Bengal namely — Kolkata, Asansol, Raniganj, Bardhaman, and Purulia in connection with the case.
In the run-up to the elections, the BJP has been alleging that the money from coal sales is whitewashed through shell companies and siphoned into the funds of the ruling party. TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who is also a Lok Sabha member and the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been named as the main beneficiary of the scam by the saffron party.
Meanwhile, reacting to the development, Abhishek Banerjee called the summons a ploy to 'intimidate' them. "At 2 pm today, the CBI served a notice in the name of my wife. We have full faith in the law of the land. However, if they think they can use these ploys to intimidate us, they are mistaken. We are not the ones who would ever be cowed down," he said.
Updated 22:54 IST, February 21st 2021