KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress is unlikely to take any immediate action against Partha Chatterjee following his arrest on Saturday over the alleged irregularities in the School Service Commission scam.
“Law will take its own course and we have full faith in the judiciary. We cannot comment on the issue of their alleged complicity. If anyone of our party is proved guilty in court, the party will definitely take strong action against him,” said TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.
Soon after the arrest, a meeting was called by TMC national general secretary and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
“If anyone’s name emerges in connection with the recovery of money from someone’s apartment, only they or their lawyers can comment on it,” Ghosh added.
The party, however, didn’t directly portray Chatterjee as a victim of the BJP’s conspiracy, an allegation that Mamata made recently. Chatterjee’s arrest has turned out to be a huge embarrassment for the TMC.
“There is large-scale resentment among youth over alleged irregularities in schools. The arrest is a blow to us before panchayat polls slated to be held next year,’’ said a TMC leader.
Bengal BJP held a protest march from Naktala, where Chatterjee’s house is located.
“Mamata Banerjee cannot skip her responsibility. This is a huge scam and the functionaries of her party are involved. The root of the scam is spread over different levels of TMC,” said BJP’s state president Sukanta Majumdar.
Meanwhile, Chatterjee was hospitalised in the evening after he complained of uneasiness, an official of the agency said.
Chatterjee, who has several health issues, was admitted to the ICCU of the state-run SSKM Hospital hours after the senior minister was remanded to two-day ED custody by a city court.
He was later moved to a cabin after his condition improved "a bit", an official of the hospital said.
Several tests including ECG were conducted on the TMC secretary general.
"He is stable at the moment. A team of doctors are keeping a close watch on his condition," the official said.
Cardiologist Dr Saroj Mondal is heading the team of doctors that is looking after Chatterjee, a source in the ED said.
Security personnel have been posted outside the minister's cabin.
Arrest puts Trinamool in a tough spot
Partha Chatterjee’s arrest has turned out to be a huge embarrassment for the TMC.
“There is large-scale resentment among youth over alleged irregularities in schools. The arrest is a blow to us before panchayat polls slated to be held next year,’’ said a TMC leader.
CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty on Saturday urged Nobel laureate economist Abhijit Vinayak Bandyopadhyay and other eminent personalities to refuse awards from the West Bengal government when victims of the school jobs scam are suffering.
Though the government is yet to come out with a list of the persons to be conferred the state's top civilian awards such as 'Banga Bibhusan' and 'Banga Bhusan', media reports have suggested that Bandyopadhyay will be one of the awardees.
"At the onset of the crude financial scam perpetrated by the TMC, I, a Leftist commoner, would like to appeal to you to refuse the so-called Banga Bhusan and Banga Bibhusan award 2022, scheduled to be hosted on July 25," Chakraborty said.
Thousands of unemployed youths of the state have been victims of the scam, carried out by the ruling dispensation, he alleged.
"They have been toiling for justice over the last few years. I appeal to you to stand in solidarity with these victims, who for all these years have been ardent followers and fans of your creativity".
May they get to see their icons stand in solidarity with them, at their hour of struggle," Chakraborty said in his appeal.
The senior CPI(M) leader also asked the eminent personalities whether they need to surrender themselves to "a corrupt and totalitarian government just for some money and a trophy?"
The CBI, as directed by the Calcutta High Court, is looking into the alleged irregularities committed in the recruitment of Group-C and D staff as well as teachers in government-sponsored and "aided schools on recommendations of the West Bengal School Service Commission."
The ED which is tracking the money trail in the scam on Friday carried out simultaneous raids at the houses of around a dozen people, including Chatterjee and another minister.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday regretted that "a mountain of currency notes" has now been discovered in a house in West Bengal, the land of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar and Swami Vivekananda.
He termed the reported seizure of cash in crores of rupees from the home of a close associate of West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee as a "matter of shame".
"A mountain of currency notes, to the tune of Rs 21 crore, has been found at someone's home. We must condemn the corrupt practice, which is shameful on the holy soil of Bengal, the land of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar and Swami Vivekananda, and also the divine land of worshippers of Saraswati, Goddess of learning."
Strictest action needs to be taken against the perpetrators," Pradhan said.
He was present at a programme of East-West Metro in Sealdah station here.
Asked about the arrest of Chatterjee on the sidelines of the event, Pradhan declined to take the name of the political leader in the government programme but said "the discovery of such a huge amount of cash is a matter of shame".
"I am from Odisha. We share a rich cultural heritage. So the development hurts," he added.
Chatterjee was the state education minister when the alleged school jobs scam took place.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, however, said the party had nothing to do with the "seizure of cash in someone's residence who is not associated with us".
"We are keeping a close watch on the situation. We will come out with a statement at an appropriate time," Ghosh said on July 22.
Referring to the TMC spokesperson's comment, Pradhan said, "The party has stated that it is not associated with it (the discovery of cash). This reminds me of a Bengali phrase Thakur ghore ke ami kala khana (a guilty mind is always suspicious)."
(With PTI Inputs)