Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 23: The West Bengal Industries and commerce minister Partha Chatterjee, a close aide of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee, was on Saturday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged teacher recruitment scam in the state School Service Commission (SSC) when he was holding education portfolio earlier.
The arrest of Chatterjee was made after recovery of over Rs 20 crores from the residence of one of his close associates Arpita Mukherjee and after questioning him close to 26 hours during which the ED said he did not co-operate with the investigating officers.
The Trinamool leader was questioned throughout the night following the recovery of the cash. During the questioning, “Chatterjee did not co-operate with the investigators as a result of which he was arrested,” officials said.
“Partha Chatterjee was arrested after overnight interrogation. During questioning, Chatterjee complained of uneasiness following which his health was examined by two doctors brought by the investigators. The questioning resumed after the doctors gave a go-ahead,” the officials said.
“The amount recovered from Arpita Mukherjee’s house is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the said SSC scam,” the probe agency said in a statement. In 2014, Chatterjee was appointed as the minister-in-charge of higher education and school education — the portfolio at the heart of the SSC scam, which he held till 2021, when he was replaced with another minister Bratya Basu. After Mamata took over as the CM for the third consecutive time after the TMC’s triumph in 2021 Assembly polls, she again allocated the portfolios of commerce and industry, information technology and electronics to Chatterjee.
It was during Chatterjee’s tenure as the education minister that the alleged teacher recruitment scam in the SSC and the Primary Education Board took place. He faces corruption charges for having allegedly ensured in exchange for money jobs for candidates with lower marks rather than those making it to the merit lists.
Recently, the Calcutta High Court while hearing a number of writ petitions had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to carry out investigations into the recruitment scam of Group ‘C’ & ‘D’ staff, Assistant Teachers of classes IX-XII and primary teachers. ED is investigating cases under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
Following the Calcutta High Court’s decision ordering a CBI inquiry into the SSC scam, Chatterjee on May 18 appeared before the central agency for questioning in connection with alleged illegal appointments of teachers in government schools after he failed to get relief from the court.
Trinamool Congress has distanced itself from Arpita Mukherjee saying she has no links with the party. “The money recovered by ED has nothing to do with Trinamool. Those who are named in this investigation, it is their responsibility to answer the questions related to them or their lawyers,” TMC General Secretary Kunal Ghosh tweeted.
The TMC said it was keeping a “close watch” on the situation. “We will come out with a statement at an appropriate time,” Ghosh said. Speaker Biman Banerjee said the probe agency must inform the speaker before arresting a member of the assembly. “The ED or CBI, while arresting any MP or MLA, has to inform the speaker of the Lok Sabha or assembly. This is the constitutional norm. But I have not received any communication from ED about Chatterjee’s arrest,” he said.
Apart from the ED, the alleged scam is also being investigated by the CBI. While the ED is looking into the money trail in the scam, the CBI is investigating the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Group-C and D staff and teachers in state-sponsored and aided schools.
On Friday ED officials had also conducted searches at the residence of the incumbent Minister of State for Education Paresh Chandra Adhikary in Cooch Behar district in North Bengal.
Search and raids were held at residence of Manik Bhattacharya, a former president of the West Bengal Primary Education Board. Residence of a number of current and former officials were also raided over their alleged links to the scam.
Partha Chatterjee and Paresh Chandra Adhikary were both quizzed multiple times by the CBI in connection with the scam. Recently the Calcutta High Court had directed sacking of Paresh Adhikary’s daughter who has got job in a state run school by ignoring the merit.
Apart from being a heavyweight minister handling various key portfolios, Chatterjee is also the TMC secretary general — the most important party role after the position of party chief Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
One of the most prominent TMC faces in Kolkata, the five-time MLA from the city’s Behala Paschim Assembly constituency, Chatterjee, 69, has been Mamata’s “go to” leader when it comes to dealing with the Bengal organisational affairs. From the constitution of the TMC district committees to working out election strategies, Chatterjee plays an important role in the entire spectrum of organisational matters. He is also a member of the party’s disciplinary committee.
Chatterjee had worked as an HR professional with Andrew Yule before foraying into politics several decades ago. After Mamata quit the Congress and formed the TMC in 1998, he joined her party. On the TMC ticket he was elected as an MLA for the first time in 2001 from Behala Paschim and has been continuously winning from the seat since then. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly from 2006 to 2011 during the tenure of the erstwhile CPM-led Left Front government.
The source added that the probe agency will seek his custody before the court to get further details about the alleged recruitment scam. The Trinamool leader’s personal secretary has also been arrested, officials said.
The TMC described the raids as a “ploy” by the BJP government at the Centre to “harass” its political opponents. Denying any role to play in the issue, the BJP has claimed that the CBI and ED were “progressing on right path” and that “more skeletons will tumble out of the cupboard.”
