Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh Wednesday took a jibe at party leader Anubrata Mondal for not appearing before the CBI, which had summoned him for the fifth time during the day in the cattle smuggling case and getting admitted to the hospital.

He said TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had faced central agencies despite the BJP using them to pursue its vendetta politics.

"As it's a legal matter, I can't comment on why he (Mondal) didn't face the CBI and got admitted to a hospital. It is for the doctors to comment on his health condition. But I would like to say that I had never skipped whenever the CBI or ED had summoned me. As I have committed no wrong, I had no fear," he said.

"Even our leader Abhishek Banerjee, who was summoned on several occasions by the central agencies, appeared and faced their questioning despite being targeted politically. He came out with his head held high," Ghosh, TMC state general secretary, told reporters.

He had taken a dig at Mondal last month too for his remarks over the probe into the Birbhum killings, saying he is a "big leader whose political understanding is superior". On Wednesday, Mondal was admitted to a state-run hospital and did not appear before CBI. He was asked to appear before the investigating agency at 11 am but went to the SSKM Hospital around the same time with complaints of chest pain and uneasiness.

Incidentally, except Ghosh, most of the TMC leaders on Wednesday declined to comment on Mondal getting admitted to a hospital instead of appearing before the CBI. State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said it was a "foregone" conclusion that Mondal would get admitted to the hospital.

"All of us knew that he would get admitted to a hospital. It was a foregone conclusion. He is trying to evade appearing before the CBI. We wish him speedy recovery and hope that he will soon appear before the CBI," he said. BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the people are seeing how a person who terrorized entire Birbhum district is now afraid of facing CBI.

CPM state secretary Mohammed Salim said that the investigating agency must ensure that Mondal does not escape the clutches of law.