Mamata decries ED’s notice to Abhishek Banerjee’s wife as inhumane act

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for issuing a notice to Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s wife, Rujira Narula Banerjee, in connection with the multi-crore coal smuggling case. Narula was stopped by immigration officials at Kolkata’s airport from boarding a Dubai-bound flight, and later received a notice from ED, which asked her to be present on June 8 at the agency’s Salt Lake office. Speaking to media persons, Mamata Banerjee called it an inhuman act on ED’s part and mentioned that Narula was visiting her ailing mother in Dubai. The Supreme Court only required her to inform ED before leaving the country, which she did. Mamata Banerjee questioned the timing of the notice and referred to it as an attempt to divert attention from the Balasore train mishap. The issuance of the notice was labeled reflections of vendetta politics by the Union government and the BJP by the Trinamool Congress. In the same case, ED issued notice to West Bengal Law Minister Moloy Ghatak for questioning at their headquarters in Delhi on June 19.