Abhishek Banerjee summons: 4 hours of questions, next on 20 Nov

Representative image. Mainakchatterjee.tech, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Why it matters

Abhishek Banerjee is the TMC's national general secretary and now faces two police cases in Kolkata after the change of government in West Bengal. He calls the cases false; state minister Dilip Ghosh said he has been summoned many times before. His 20 November appearance is the next step.

Kolkata Police questioned Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee for nearly four hours on 14 November 2026 over a social media post about Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and he faces a second summons, in a separate case, on 20 November. Saturday’s appearance at Bhabanipur police station in south Kolkata followed an Abhishek Banerjee summons in a case registered in May.

He reached the station at 12.22 pm, according to the police as quoted by The Indian Express, and left at around 4.30 pm, The Times of India reported. Outside Bhabanipur police station, Kolkata Police had put up barricades for an expected gathering of party workers.

What the case over the CEC post is about

The case rests on a post Banerjee wrote on X on 2 May 2026, while the model code of conduct for the state election was in force. Kolkata Police registered a case at Bhabanipur police station on 27 May on a complaint from a local resident, both papers reported.

The complaint alleges that the post described the Chief Election Commissioner as a “puppet of an anti-Bengali Gujarati gang”, The Times of India reported, and that it equated a whole community with criminal groups, according to The Indian Express. The case is under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), India’s criminal code, on promoting enmity, provocation and spreading rumours; The Times of India also lists provisions on inciting violence and causing public disorder. The reports read do not mention a charge sheet in this case.

Abhishek Banerjee summons for 20 November

The 20 November summons is for a different complaint. It asks him to appear at Girish Park police station in central Kolkata over remarks he made on 29 October, when he accused some officers of targeting TMC workers. A woman filed a complaint on 31 October, and police registered a case on threatening police personnel and obstructing them from duty, The Indian Express reported. The summons was served on Friday, 13 November.

Case	Police station	What the complaint alleges	Where it stands
Post on X about the CEC	Bhabanipur	Post of 2 May promoted enmity and spread rumours	Questioned for about 4 hours on 14 Nov
Remarks about police	Girish Park	Remarks of 29 Oct threatened police and obstructed them	Summoned for 20 Nov

What Abhishek Banerjee said after the questioning

“Whenever officials have summoned me, I have gone,” Banerjee told reporters, adding that he was appearing because of a high court direction and would go again if called, according to The Times of India. He said he had cooperated and called the cases against him false.

He said the complaint was filed only after the government changed in the state, The Indian Express reported. He also asked why Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had not been called in by investigators over the Narada case when he was Leader of the Opposition.

On the words in his post, Banerjee said he had explained why he used the phrase “Gujarati gang”. He said it was a reply to BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, who in his account had said there is no Bengali language, only a “Bangladeshi” one.

Some people outside Bhabanipur police station chanted “chor” (thief) while he was inside, The Indian Express reported. TMC supporters said the BJP had paid the demonstrators, according to The Times of India.

How the BJP responded

State minister Dilip Ghosh said Banerjee had been summoned many times before by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and others, and that “this saga will continue”, The Times of India reported. Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said the TMC had not given up its “feudal” mindset even after losing the election.

How the dispute built up

• 2 May 2026: Banerjee’s post on X about the CEC, during the election code.
• 27 May: Kolkata Police register a case at Bhabanipur on a resident’s complaint.
• 29 October: his remarks about police officers.
• 31 October: complaint at Girish Park police station.
• 12 November: a structure on the footpath outside his Kalighat home is demolished; the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said it blocked pedestrians, The News Mill reported.
• 13 November: Girish Park summons served for 20 November.
• 14 November: about four hours of questioning at Bhabanipur.

Speaking about the demolition, Banerjee asked the authorities not to evict pavement workers near his home. “If you want to run a bulldozer, run it over my house,” he said, according to The Times of India. Our earlier report covers the Kalighat demolition. The full account of Saturday’s questioning is in The Indian Express report; more stories from the state are on our West Bengal page.

Frequently asked questions

Why was Abhishek Banerjee questioned by Kolkata Police?

Over a 2 May 2026 post on X about Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A resident complained and police registered a case on 27 May under BNS sections on promoting enmity and spreading rumours.

When is Abhishek Banerjee's next police appearance?

20 November 2026, at Girish Park police station, in a separate case over remarks he made about police officers on 29 October.

What did Abhishek Banerjee say after the questioning?

He said he has always appeared when summoned, called the cases false and said he cooperated.