News Analysis India

Tag: SSC Scam

  • School jobs scam: CBI raids West Bengal varsity Vice-Chancellor’s office 

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday raided the office of North Bengal University (NBU) Vice-Chancellor Subires Bhattacharyya in Siliguri in connection with its probe into the school recruitment scam, and sealed his apartment in Kolkata.

    Bhattacharyya’s name figured in the report of a committee formed by the Calcutta High Court, that stated that illegal appointments were made, on recommendations of the School Service Commission (SSC), in institutes run or aided by the West Bengal government in the past few years.

    Bhattacharyya was the SSC chairman between 2014 and 2018.

    A 12-member CBI team raided the NBU vice-chancellor’s office in Siliguri, the largest town in the northern part of the state.

    “We have conducted raids and seized some documents and confiscated his mobile phone,” a CBI official said. Another team sealed Bhattacharyya’s apartment in Bansdroni area of Kolkata. He now lives in Siliguri. Attempts to contact the NBU vice-chancellor failed.

    The report submitted to the high court by Justice (retd) R K Bag-headed committee said that a five-member panel formed in 2019 by the Education Department, when senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee held the portfolio, for monitoring recruitments of teaching and non-teaching staff did not have any legal validity.

    The central investigating agency on August 10 arrested former SSC adviser Dr Shanti Prasad Sinha and its ex-secretary Ashok Kumar Saha, who were part of the panel.

    The then education minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged close associate Arpita Mukherjee were earlier arrested by the Enforcement Department (ED) which is tracking the money trail in the scam.

    KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday raided the office of North Bengal University (NBU) Vice-Chancellor Subires Bhattacharyya in Siliguri in connection with its probe into the school recruitment scam, and sealed his apartment in Kolkata.

    Bhattacharyya’s name figured in the report of a committee formed by the Calcutta High Court, that stated that illegal appointments were made, on recommendations of the School Service Commission (SSC), in institutes run or aided by the West Bengal government in the past few years.

    Bhattacharyya was the SSC chairman between 2014 and 2018.

    A 12-member CBI team raided the NBU vice-chancellor’s office in Siliguri, the largest town in the northern part of the state.

    “We have conducted raids and seized some documents and confiscated his mobile phone,” a CBI official said. Another team sealed Bhattacharyya’s apartment in Bansdroni area of Kolkata. He now lives in Siliguri. Attempts to contact the NBU vice-chancellor failed.

    The report submitted to the high court by Justice (retd) R K Bag-headed committee said that a five-member panel formed in 2019 by the Education Department, when senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee held the portfolio, for monitoring recruitments of teaching and non-teaching staff did not have any legal validity.

    The central investigating agency on August 10 arrested former SSC adviser Dr Shanti Prasad Sinha and its ex-secretary Ashok Kumar Saha, who were part of the panel.

    The then education minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged close associate Arpita Mukherjee were earlier arrested by the Enforcement Department (ED) which is tracking the money trail in the scam.

  • Scams fallout: Trinamool to focus on maintaining clean image, to go all out against BJP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The “democracy-is-dead” refrain is unlikely to be effective in cornering the Narendra Modi dispensation, Trinamool Congress sources said on Thursday and added the party is drawing a list of 12 promises that the BJP made but failed to fulfil for its crusade against the government.

    Among the dozen promises that the Mamata Banerjee-led party plans to take up to corner the BJP government are the doubling of farmers’ income by 2022 and houses for all.

    “We have kept it simple. We want to remind the Modi government of the promises it made to the people and also show them how they have failed,” TMC MP Derek O’Brien said.

    TMC sources said it would be impossible to put the government on the backfoot through the “democracy is dead” platform and instead, the focus should be on questioning it on the promises it made to the general public but failed to implement on ground.

    Though the TMC sources did not mention the Congress, the target was apparent.

    ALSO READ | SSC scam: HC extends former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial remand by 14 days

    Earlier this month, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged India is witnessing the “death of democracy” and anybody who raises people’s issues and stands against the onset of dictatorship is “viciously attacked” and put in jail.

    The Trinamool Congress said the government promised to rid the country of black money but in reality, it claimed, 99.3 per cent of such money stashed abroad came back to the country with a maximum of it returning to Gujarat.

    It also alleged the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sold Rs 2.1 lakh crore worth of PSUs and failed to deposit the promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of the poor.

    It has instead squandered away Rs 6.2 trillion in bad loans and Rs 1.22 lakh crore in bank frauds.

    The party also plans to raise the issue of the bullet train project, raising questions on land acquisition, and asked how the Railways accumulated a debt of Rs 7 lakh crore.

    The failure of the government under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana also will be highlighted by the party, the sources said.

    The TMC wants to gain some momentum before the next session of Parliament, which is expected in November, and will go all out against the government, they said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday directed all her ministers to stop using pilot cars with red beacon anywhere in the state, except highways, and advised them to be very careful while signing any official document, a senior official here said.

    The fresh directives from Banerjee are being seen as an attempt to rebuild the image of her government which received back-to-back jolts following the arrests of senior leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal.

    Addressing the first meeting of the state cabinet, following the recent reshuffle, Banerjee also stated that her department would fix separate tasks for the ministers of state, who till date had “very little responsibilities” to carry out.

    ALSO READ | TET row: HC recalls order asking Trinamool leader’s daughter, five others to appear before it

    “The chief minister at Thursday’s meeting asked her ministers to stop using pilot cars. Ministers can be escorted by pilot cars with red beacon at times when they are travelling on highways, but not anywhere else in the state,” the bureaucrat told PTI after the meeting.

    “She also advised cabinet ministers to go through any documents thoroughly before signing them,” he said.

    At Thursday’s meeting, Banerjee was learnt to have pulled up state forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick, pointing out that she had been receiving several complaints against him.

    She directed Mallick to maintain a “clean image”.

    Partha Chatterjee, who held the industry portfolio, was relieved of his ministerial responsibilities and suspended from the TMC following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month in connection with the probe into a school recruitment scam.

    Notably, Thursday’s was the first cabinet meeting after Chatterjee’s removal from the ministry.

    NEW DELHI: The “democracy-is-dead” refrain is unlikely to be effective in cornering the Narendra Modi dispensation, Trinamool Congress sources said on Thursday and added the party is drawing a list of 12 promises that the BJP made but failed to fulfil for its crusade against the government.

    Among the dozen promises that the Mamata Banerjee-led party plans to take up to corner the BJP government are the doubling of farmers’ income by 2022 and houses for all.

    “We have kept it simple. We want to remind the Modi government of the promises it made to the people and also show them how they have failed,” TMC MP Derek O’Brien said.

    TMC sources said it would be impossible to put the government on the backfoot through the “democracy is dead” platform and instead, the focus should be on questioning it on the promises it made to the general public but failed to implement on ground.

    Though the TMC sources did not mention the Congress, the target was apparent.

    ALSO READ | SSC scam: HC extends former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial remand by 14 days

    Earlier this month, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged India is witnessing the “death of democracy” and anybody who raises people’s issues and stands against the onset of dictatorship is “viciously attacked” and put in jail.

    The Trinamool Congress said the government promised to rid the country of black money but in reality, it claimed, 99.3 per cent of such money stashed abroad came back to the country with a maximum of it returning to Gujarat.

    It also alleged the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sold Rs 2.1 lakh crore worth of PSUs and failed to deposit the promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of the poor.

    It has instead squandered away Rs 6.2 trillion in bad loans and Rs 1.22 lakh crore in bank frauds.

    The party also plans to raise the issue of the bullet train project, raising questions on land acquisition, and asked how the Railways accumulated a debt of Rs 7 lakh crore.

    The failure of the government under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana also will be highlighted by the party, the sources said.

    The TMC wants to gain some momentum before the next session of Parliament, which is expected in November, and will go all out against the government, they said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday directed all her ministers to stop using pilot cars with red beacon anywhere in the state, except highways, and advised them to be very careful while signing any official document, a senior official here said.

    The fresh directives from Banerjee are being seen as an attempt to rebuild the image of her government which received back-to-back jolts following the arrests of senior leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal.

    Addressing the first meeting of the state cabinet, following the recent reshuffle, Banerjee also stated that her department would fix separate tasks for the ministers of state, who till date had “very little responsibilities” to carry out.

    ALSO READ | TET row: HC recalls order asking Trinamool leader’s daughter, five others to appear before it

    “The chief minister at Thursday’s meeting asked her ministers to stop using pilot cars. Ministers can be escorted by pilot cars with red beacon at times when they are travelling on highways, but not anywhere else in the state,” the bureaucrat told PTI after the meeting.

    “She also advised cabinet ministers to go through any documents thoroughly before signing them,” he said.

    At Thursday’s meeting, Banerjee was learnt to have pulled up state forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick, pointing out that she had been receiving several complaints against him.

    She directed Mallick to maintain a “clean image”.

    Partha Chatterjee, who held the industry portfolio, was relieved of his ministerial responsibilities and suspended from the TMC following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month in connection with the probe into a school recruitment scam.

    Notably, Thursday’s was the first cabinet meeting after Chatterjee’s removal from the ministry.

  • SSC scam: HC extends former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial remand by 14 days

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: A special court on Thursday extended the judicial remand of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged close aide Arpita Mukherjee, both arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the school jobs scam, by 14 more days.

    After being in ED custody till August 5 following their arrest on July 23, Chatterjee and Mukherjee had been sent to judicial remand by the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court here.

    Rejecting a bail prayer of the former minister, Judge Jibon Kumar Sadhu granted 14 days’ judicial remand of the two accused on a prayer by the ED till August 31.

    On a prayer by the central investigating agency, the court granted permission to the ED to further interrogate them in the correctional homes they are lodged in.

    Mukherjee did not make any bail prayer before the court on Thursday.

    Chatterjee and Mukherjee were arrested by the ED on July 23 in connection with its probe into the money trail in illegal appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided schools.

    The ED has claimed to have recovered Rs 49.80 crore, jewellery and gold bars from flats owned by Mukherjee, Chatterjee’s alleged close associate, and documents of properties and a company in joint holdings.

    Chatterjee has been relieved of his ministerial duties by the Mamata Banerjee government, while the Trinamool Congress has also removed him from all posts he held in the party following his arrest.

    Claiming that 70-year-old Chatterjee suffers from chronic illnesses and needs active medical intervention, his lawyer prayed for his bail on any condition.

    The public prosecutor appearing for the ED claimed that Chatterjee and Mukherjee are involved in a criminal conspiracy for illegally giving jobs for the post of teachers and money recovered from her flats were proceeds of crime.

    He also claimed that seized documents reveal a close association of Mukherjee with family members of the former minister through a company named Ananta Texfab Pvt Ltd and the address of it is a flat at Belghoria in the northern outskirts of Kolkata, from where cash amounting to Rs 27.90 crore was seized.

    It was alleged that Chatterjee and Mukherjee entered into a partnership of equal share vide a partnership deed in November 2012 to form a company named APA Utility Services.

    Opposing the bail prayer, the ED counsel submitted that Chatterjee is an influential person as he is a sitting MLA and may influence witnesses in the case.

    Observing that the allegations against the accused are very serious, the judge rejected Chatterjee’s bail prayer.

    KOLKATA: A special court on Thursday extended the judicial remand of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged close aide Arpita Mukherjee, both arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the school jobs scam, by 14 more days.

    After being in ED custody till August 5 following their arrest on July 23, Chatterjee and Mukherjee had been sent to judicial remand by the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court here.

    Rejecting a bail prayer of the former minister, Judge Jibon Kumar Sadhu granted 14 days’ judicial remand of the two accused on a prayer by the ED till August 31.

    On a prayer by the central investigating agency, the court granted permission to the ED to further interrogate them in the correctional homes they are lodged in.

    Mukherjee did not make any bail prayer before the court on Thursday.

    Chatterjee and Mukherjee were arrested by the ED on July 23 in connection with its probe into the money trail in illegal appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided schools.

    The ED has claimed to have recovered Rs 49.80 crore, jewellery and gold bars from flats owned by Mukherjee, Chatterjee’s alleged close associate, and documents of properties and a company in joint holdings.

    Chatterjee has been relieved of his ministerial duties by the Mamata Banerjee government, while the Trinamool Congress has also removed him from all posts he held in the party following his arrest.

    Claiming that 70-year-old Chatterjee suffers from chronic illnesses and needs active medical intervention, his lawyer prayed for his bail on any condition.

    The public prosecutor appearing for the ED claimed that Chatterjee and Mukherjee are involved in a criminal conspiracy for illegally giving jobs for the post of teachers and money recovered from her flats were proceeds of crime.

    He also claimed that seized documents reveal a close association of Mukherjee with family members of the former minister through a company named Ananta Texfab Pvt Ltd and the address of it is a flat at Belghoria in the northern outskirts of Kolkata, from where cash amounting to Rs 27.90 crore was seized.

    It was alleged that Chatterjee and Mukherjee entered into a partnership of equal share vide a partnership deed in November 2012 to form a company named APA Utility Services.

    Opposing the bail prayer, the ED counsel submitted that Chatterjee is an influential person as he is a sitting MLA and may influence witnesses in the case.

    Observing that the allegations against the accused are very serious, the judge rejected Chatterjee’s bail prayer.

  • Mamata Banerjee meets PM Modi, seeks urgent release of Bengal’s dues

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a four-day Delhi visit, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and placed a list of Rs 100968 crore claiming that the money the Centre owes to the state government in GST arrears and other segments related to the central government schemes, sources in the Trinamool Congress said.

    In the 45-minute meeting, the CM also raised the issue of using the central agencies which are summoning Trinamool Congress functionaries.

    Taking a jibe at Mamata-Modi meeting, the CPI(M) and Congress described it as a part of her “setting” plan to settle an under the table deal with the BJP.

    Mamata’s Delhi visit and meeting with Modi is said to be politically significant in the backdrop of the arrest of Partha Chatterjee, former commerce and industries minister in Bengal cabinet who was third-in-command in the TMC, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in alleged school recruitment scam during the politician’s tenure as education minister.

    “In the meeting, the CM mentioned about Rs 90,000 crore which is the state government’s GST share and lying due with the Centre. She said unless the state gets its share, it will be difficult to clear the dues of the state government employees,” said a senior TMC leader.

    The leader said Mamata also demanded Rs 5,561 crore which the Centre owes to Bengal government as labourer payment under 100-day job scheme. “She also mentioned about Rs 9,329 crore which the state is yet to get from the central government under the housing scheme for the poor people,” he added.

    The state government decided to hold release of funds under 100-day job scheme since December last year citing anomalies found by the Centre’s monitoring teams which visited Bengal on two occasions. The Centre is also yet to release the labour budget for Bengal in 2022-23 fiscal.       

    On several occasion, Mamata raised the issue of economic blockade which the Centre is carrying out by not clearing the fund meant for 100-day job scheme and the state’s GST arrears. She had written a number letters to to the Prime Minister requesting him to clear the dues.

    CPI(M)’s central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty described the meeting a mere eye-wash. “It is clear that she flew to Delhi to settle a deal with the BJP to protect her corrupt party leaders from the central agencies. The ED already interrogated her nephew Abhishek Banerjee on two occasions in connection with a money laundering case linked to coal smuggling being probed by the CBI,” he said.

    Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury echoed Chakrabarty saying after Chatterjee’s arrest, Bengal CM landed in Delhi to protect her own men who are facing corruption charges.

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a four-day Delhi visit, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and placed a list of Rs 100968 crore claiming that the money the Centre owes to the state government in GST arrears and other segments related to the central government schemes, sources in the Trinamool Congress said.

    In the 45-minute meeting, the CM also raised the issue of using the central agencies which are summoning Trinamool Congress functionaries.

    Taking a jibe at Mamata-Modi meeting, the CPI(M) and Congress described it as a part of her “setting” plan to settle an under the table deal with the BJP.

    Mamata’s Delhi visit and meeting with Modi is said to be politically significant in the backdrop of the arrest of Partha Chatterjee, former commerce and industries minister in Bengal cabinet who was third-in-command in the TMC, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in alleged school recruitment scam during the politician’s tenure as education minister.

    “In the meeting, the CM mentioned about Rs 90,000 crore which is the state government’s GST share and lying due with the Centre. She said unless the state gets its share, it will be difficult to clear the dues of the state government employees,” said a senior TMC leader.

    The leader said Mamata also demanded Rs 5,561 crore which the Centre owes to Bengal government as labourer payment under 100-day job scheme. “She also mentioned about Rs 9,329 crore which the state is yet to get from the central government under the housing scheme for the poor people,” he added.

    The state government decided to hold release of funds under 100-day job scheme since December last year citing anomalies found by the Centre’s monitoring teams which visited Bengal on two occasions. The Centre is also yet to release the labour budget for Bengal in 2022-23 fiscal.       

    On several occasion, Mamata raised the issue of economic blockade which the Centre is carrying out by not clearing the fund meant for 100-day job scheme and the state’s GST arrears. She had written a number letters to to the Prime Minister requesting him to clear the dues.

    CPI(M)’s central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty described the meeting a mere eye-wash. “It is clear that she flew to Delhi to settle a deal with the BJP to protect her corrupt party leaders from the central agencies. The ED already interrogated her nephew Abhishek Banerjee on two occasions in connection with a money laundering case linked to coal smuggling being probed by the CBI,” he said.

    Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury echoed Chakrabarty saying after Chatterjee’s arrest, Bengal CM landed in Delhi to protect her own men who are facing corruption charges.

  • ‘Money recovered by ED does not belong to me’: Partha Chatterjee once again claims ‘conspiracy’ against him

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Arrested Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, who is at the centre of a multi-crore school jobs scam, on Sunday claimed that the money recovered during Enforcement Directorate raids does not belong to him, and time will tell who are “conspiring” against him.

    As he deboarded a vehicle after being taken to ESI Hospital at Joka for a medical check-up, and was approached by reporters with questions regarding the scam, Chatterjee said, “The money (recovered) is not mine.”

    Asked further if anybody was conspiring against him, he said: “You will get to know when the time comes.”

    Chatterjee had on Friday asserted that he was a victim of a conspiracy and expressed unhappiness over the Trinamool Congress’ decision to suspend him.

    “This decision (to suspend me) could influence an impartial probe,” he had said.

    About the move to remove him from the ministry, Chatterjee, once considered a close confidante of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said, “Her (Banerjee’s) decision is right.”

    Chatterjee, 69, was relieved of his duties as minister-in-charge of various departments and suspended from the TMC on Thursday.

    He was also removed from all party posts.

    One of his close aides, Arpita Mukherjee, has also been arrested by the ED after crores of rupees in cash were seized from her residences in parts of the city.

    The TMC leadership has taken exception to his comments, contending that Chatterjee was himself responsible for his fate.

    “Why was he silent for the last few days after his arrest? He has every right to approach the court and prove his innocence. The party has nothing to do with this scam,” TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh had said on Thursday.

    The CBI, as directed by Calcutta High Court, is probing the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Group-C and -D staff, as well as teachers in government-sponsored and -aided schools on the recommendations of the West Bengal School Service Commission.

    The ED is looking into the money trail involved in the scam.

    KOLKATA: Arrested Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, who is at the centre of a multi-crore school jobs scam, on Sunday claimed that the money recovered during Enforcement Directorate raids does not belong to him, and time will tell who are “conspiring” against him.

    As he deboarded a vehicle after being taken to ESI Hospital at Joka for a medical check-up, and was approached by reporters with questions regarding the scam, Chatterjee said, “The money (recovered) is not mine.”

    Asked further if anybody was conspiring against him, he said: “You will get to know when the time comes.”

    Chatterjee had on Friday asserted that he was a victim of a conspiracy and expressed unhappiness over the Trinamool Congress’ decision to suspend him.

    “This decision (to suspend me) could influence an impartial probe,” he had said.

    About the move to remove him from the ministry, Chatterjee, once considered a close confidante of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said, “Her (Banerjee’s) decision is right.”

    Chatterjee, 69, was relieved of his duties as minister-in-charge of various departments and suspended from the TMC on Thursday.

    He was also removed from all party posts.

    One of his close aides, Arpita Mukherjee, has also been arrested by the ED after crores of rupees in cash were seized from her residences in parts of the city.

    The TMC leadership has taken exception to his comments, contending that Chatterjee was himself responsible for his fate.

    “Why was he silent for the last few days after his arrest? He has every right to approach the court and prove his innocence. The party has nothing to do with this scam,” TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh had said on Thursday.

    The CBI, as directed by Calcutta High Court, is probing the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Group-C and -D staff, as well as teachers in government-sponsored and -aided schools on the recommendations of the West Bengal School Service Commission.

    The ED is looking into the money trail involved in the scam.

  • ‘Anyone proven guilty must be punished, but media trials unacceptable’: Mamata on SSC scam

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Days after senior West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the school recruitment scam, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed the media for allegedly launching a “malicious campaign” against her party.

    Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, said that anyone proven guilty by the court must be punished, but probe “agencies must not be used to malign political parties”.

    “”When you run a big institution, there can be mistakes. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose once said that people have the right to make blunders. If anyone has committed any mistake, and it is proven legally, he or she must be punished. “But I am against any malicious media campaign. The media is playing the role of kangaroo (court). A senior judge also said that recently,” she said.

    Addressing a programme of private firm Titagarh Wagons at Uttarpara in Hooghly district, Banerjee lashed out at a section of the media for allegedly trying to act like courts and pronounce judgments even before a person is legally proven guilty.

    “The Chief Justice of India recently pointed out that the media is playing the role of kangaroo courts.

    They don’t want any development to happen in Bengal and only want to defame our state,” she said.

    Banerjee was referring to recent comments by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana that agenda-driven debates and kangaroo courts being run by the media are detrimental to the health of democracy.

    Without elaborating, the TMC supremo claimed that she knows those journalists who have taken “undue benefits”.

    About ED raids carried out on July 22 at the houses of around a dozen people, including Chatterjee and another minister, in connection with its investigation into the school jobs scam, Banerjee wondered what prompted the central agency to do it just a day after the TMC’s mega rally in Kolkata.

    She said, “”They (BJP) were afraid after seeing the turnout (in the rally). They (ED) came in the dead of night and the wee hours. Did they find everything in one day?” Banerjee said she does not have any problem with investigative agencies doing their job. But I will not tolerate ruining the perception of any political party in the name of an investigation, especially by those who have looted the country. This is not a good sign for our country,” she said.

    The TMC leader said she is against central agencies being used by the BJP to malign opposition parties.

    Banerjee claimed that the BJP will not return to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

    “If I were not confident, I would not have said this. But what is the calculation, where will the seats come from, and how will they come? I don’t know. (However), even astrologers are predicting the BJP’s downfall,” she said.

    Banerjee said the level of “intolerance and cruelty” against the opposition has surpassed that of the British era.

    In an apparent reference to the suspension of 19 opposition members from Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, she said, “These days, if you protest against something, you get suspended. If people raise their voices, they are either suspended or slapped with court cases.”

    She also claimed that businessmen and opposition leaders were also being “threatened by agencies at the behest of the ruling BJP” at the Centre.

    The chief minister also cautioned the saffron camp that if it tries to dislodge the West Bengal government “as it did in Maharashtra”, the party would get a befitting reply.

    After dislodging the government in Maharashtra, the BJP has been trying to carry out similar operations in Jharkhand and other states, including West Bengal.

    “Let me remind them that this is the land of the Royal Bengal Tiger; if they try to interfere, a befitting reply will follow. I warn them not to think about Bengal,” the TMC boss added.

    KOLKATA: Days after senior West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the school recruitment scam, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed the media for allegedly launching a “malicious campaign” against her party.

    Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, said that anyone proven guilty by the court must be punished, but probe “agencies must not be used to malign political parties”.

    “”When you run a big institution, there can be mistakes. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose once said that people have the right to make blunders. If anyone has committed any mistake, and it is proven legally, he or she must be punished. “But I am against any malicious media campaign. The media is playing the role of kangaroo (court). A senior judge also said that recently,” she said.

    Addressing a programme of private firm Titagarh Wagons at Uttarpara in Hooghly district, Banerjee lashed out at a section of the media for allegedly trying to act like courts and pronounce judgments even before a person is legally proven guilty.

    “The Chief Justice of India recently pointed out that the media is playing the role of kangaroo courts.

    They don’t want any development to happen in Bengal and only want to defame our state,” she said.

    Banerjee was referring to recent comments by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana that agenda-driven debates and kangaroo courts being run by the media are detrimental to the health of democracy.

    Without elaborating, the TMC supremo claimed that she knows those journalists who have taken “undue benefits”.

    About ED raids carried out on July 22 at the houses of around a dozen people, including Chatterjee and another minister, in connection with its investigation into the school jobs scam, Banerjee wondered what prompted the central agency to do it just a day after the TMC’s mega rally in Kolkata.

    She said, “”They (BJP) were afraid after seeing the turnout (in the rally). They (ED) came in the dead of night and the wee hours. Did they find everything in one day?” Banerjee said she does not have any problem with investigative agencies doing their job. But I will not tolerate ruining the perception of any political party in the name of an investigation, especially by those who have looted the country. This is not a good sign for our country,” she said.

    The TMC leader said she is against central agencies being used by the BJP to malign opposition parties.

    Banerjee claimed that the BJP will not return to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

    “If I were not confident, I would not have said this. But what is the calculation, where will the seats come from, and how will they come? I don’t know. (However), even astrologers are predicting the BJP’s downfall,” she said.

    Banerjee said the level of “intolerance and cruelty” against the opposition has surpassed that of the British era.

    In an apparent reference to the suspension of 19 opposition members from Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, she said, “These days, if you protest against something, you get suspended. If people raise their voices, they are either suspended or slapped with court cases.”

    She also claimed that businessmen and opposition leaders were also being “threatened by agencies at the behest of the ruling BJP” at the Centre.

    The chief minister also cautioned the saffron camp that if it tries to dislodge the West Bengal government “as it did in Maharashtra”, the party would get a befitting reply.

    After dislodging the government in Maharashtra, the BJP has been trying to carry out similar operations in Jharkhand and other states, including West Bengal.

    “Let me remind them that this is the land of the Royal Bengal Tiger; if they try to interfere, a befitting reply will follow. I warn them not to think about Bengal,” the TMC boss added.

  • SSC scam: Why is arrested minister being retained in Mamata Cabinet, asks BJP’s Suvendu

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday questioned why Partha Chatterjee is being retained as a minister by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee despite his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged school jobs scam.

    Adhikari met Governor La Ganesan at the Raj Bhavan here, seeking that Chatterjee, who holds the industry, commerce and parliamentary affairs portfolios, be removed as minister.

    “She (the chief minister) has not taken any step against him despite so much information and proof,” Adhikari told reporters after the meeting.

    Adhikari, a former minister in the Mamata Banerjee government before joining the BJP in 2020, alleged that it is “her strategy to show that she is good and others are not”.

    The chief minister had said during a programme on Monday that anyone found guilty in court would face action from the party.

    Chatterjee and his alleged close associate Arpita Mukherjee were arrested on July 23 by the ED, which is probing the money trail involved in the alleged teacher recruitment irregularities at government-sponsored and-aided schools.

    Crores of rupees in cash along with other valuable items were allegedly recovered from the residence of Mukherjee.

    PTI could not independently verify the information.

    Chatterjee was the education minister when the school jobs scam occurred.

    Both have been remanded to the custody of the central agency by a special ED court till August 3.

    KOLKATA: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday questioned why Partha Chatterjee is being retained as a minister by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee despite his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged school jobs scam.

    Adhikari met Governor La Ganesan at the Raj Bhavan here, seeking that Chatterjee, who holds the industry, commerce and parliamentary affairs portfolios, be removed as minister.

    “She (the chief minister) has not taken any step against him despite so much information and proof,” Adhikari told reporters after the meeting.

    Adhikari, a former minister in the Mamata Banerjee government before joining the BJP in 2020, alleged that it is “her strategy to show that she is good and others are not”.

    The chief minister had said during a programme on Monday that anyone found guilty in court would face action from the party.

    Chatterjee and his alleged close associate Arpita Mukherjee were arrested on July 23 by the ED, which is probing the money trail involved in the alleged teacher recruitment irregularities at government-sponsored and-aided schools.

    Crores of rupees in cash along with other valuable items were allegedly recovered from the residence of Mukherjee.

    PTI could not independently verify the information.

    Chatterjee was the education minister when the school jobs scam occurred.

    Both have been remanded to the custody of the central agency by a special ED court till August 3.

  • SSC scam: BJP is wrong if it thinks it can break my party using agencies, says CM Mamata

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: If anyone is found guilty of wrongdoing, he must be punished, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, days after her cabinet colleague Partha Chatterjee was arrested in the SSC scam by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

    Addressing an award function of the state government here, Banerjee slammed the opposition for a “malicious campaign” launched against her, asserting that she does not support corruption.

    “We have full faith in the judiciary. There has to be a time frame within which the truth and the court’s verdict must be out. If anyone is proven guilty, then he or she must be punished. The party, too, will take action. But, I condemn the malicious campaign against me,” she said.

    Referring to the video shared by the BJP, in which she was seen interacting with Arpita Mukherjee from whose house Rs 22 crore in cash was found, the chief minister said the Trinamool Congress has no links with her.

    “The party has no relation with that lady, neither do I know her. I attend several programmes, if someone gets clicked with me, is it my fault?” she said.

    Hitting out at the BJP, Banerjee said that if the party thinks that it can break the Trinamool Congress by using central probe agencies then it is wrong.

    “It has to be seen whether it (the investigation) is a trap to malign my party and me. I neither support corruption nor allow it to breed,” she said.

    Chatterjee, the West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister, was arrested by the ED on Saturday in connection with its investigation into the irregularities in the recruitment drives by the School Service Commission (SSC), which allegedly happened when he was the state’s education minister.

    Mukherjee, claimed to be his close aide, was also arrested by the agency after a huge amount of cash was found at her south Kolkata apartment.

    KOLKATA: If anyone is found guilty of wrongdoing, he must be punished, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, days after her cabinet colleague Partha Chatterjee was arrested in the SSC scam by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

    Addressing an award function of the state government here, Banerjee slammed the opposition for a “malicious campaign” launched against her, asserting that she does not support corruption.

    “We have full faith in the judiciary. There has to be a time frame within which the truth and the court’s verdict must be out. If anyone is proven guilty, then he or she must be punished. The party, too, will take action. But, I condemn the malicious campaign against me,” she said.

    Referring to the video shared by the BJP, in which she was seen interacting with Arpita Mukherjee from whose house Rs 22 crore in cash was found, the chief minister said the Trinamool Congress has no links with her.

    “The party has no relation with that lady, neither do I know her. I attend several programmes, if someone gets clicked with me, is it my fault?” she said.

    Hitting out at the BJP, Banerjee said that if the party thinks that it can break the Trinamool Congress by using central probe agencies then it is wrong.

    “It has to be seen whether it (the investigation) is a trap to malign my party and me. I neither support corruption nor allow it to breed,” she said.

    Chatterjee, the West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister, was arrested by the ED on Saturday in connection with its investigation into the irregularities in the recruitment drives by the School Service Commission (SSC), which allegedly happened when he was the state’s education minister.

    Mukherjee, claimed to be his close aide, was also arrested by the agency after a huge amount of cash was found at her south Kolkata apartment.

  • ED questions former Bengal Education Minister in SSC scam, seizes Rs 20 crore from aide

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA:  A day after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of misusing central agencies against her party leaders, Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths arrived at former education minister and party secretary general Partha Chatterjee’s house in Kolkata on Friday and interrogated him for nearly 10 hours over alleged irregularities in recruitment of teachers in schools through the School Service Commission. 

    The ED recovered Rs 20 crore from one of the locations, owned by a woman known to Chatterjee. “During the course of searches, the ED recovered Rs 20 crore cash from the residential premises of Arpita Mukherjee. The sum is suspected to be proceeds of SSC scam,” ED stated.

    ED teams, comprising 80 personnel, conducted simultaneous raids at 13 locations, including houses of state minister Paresh Adhikari in Cooch Behar and former advisor of SSC’s screening committee Santi Prasad Sinha.

    Chatterjee, who is now the commerce and industries minister, has been interrogated by the CBI twice in this case.

    While he could not be contacted, Adhikari said, “I am in Kolkata. I heard that ED officials reached my house but I don’t know the details.’’

    Besides, they carried out simultaneous raids in the houses of former advisor of the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) Shanti Prasad Sinha, ex-president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education Kalyanmoy Ganguly and nine others, the official said.

    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 is tracking the money trail in the scam.

    “ED is carrying out search operations at various premises linked to recruitment scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Primary Education Board,” the agency said on its official Twitter handle.

    The agency shared four photographs of piles of cash in the denomination of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 besides a number of sealed packets inside a room, without disclosing the quantity or the owner of the place.

    ED sources, however, said that around Rs 20 crore in cash and more than 15 mobile phones were seized from the residence of a woman, a close associate of Chatterjee, in the city’s Tollygunge area following a raid there in the evening, an official said.

    It is learnt that she has acted in several Bengali, Odia and Tamil films in recent years.

    At least 7-8 ED officials reached the Naktala residence of Chatterjee, the former education minister, at around 8:30 am with a few CRPF personnel keeping guard outside.

    They questioned him for more than 11 hours about the alleged scam.

    At one point of time, the senior Trinamool Congress leader complained of uneasiness following which a team of doctors from the state-run SSKM Hospital were called by the ED sleuths, a source said.

    “An ECG was conducted on the minister and his condition was stable,” said the source, who is close to the minister.

    During the interrogation, ED officials took away mobile phones of the minister’s personal assistant as well as the security guards.

    Chatterjee, currently industries and commerce minister, held the education portfolio when the scam was allegedly pulled off.

    He was interrogated by the CBI twice earlier, once on April 26 and then on May 18.

    Raids were also conducted at the residence of one of Chatterjee’s close associates at Pingla in Paschim Medinipur district, an official of the ED said, though he declined to comment whether the raid was in connection with the probe into the same scam or not.

    The agency sleuths, who raided Adhikari’s residence at Mekhliganj in Cooch Behar district questioned his family members including his daughter Ankita Adhikari in his absence, he stated.

    Ankita recently lost her job as an assistant teacher at a government school where she was appointed through the SSC two years ago after it was found “illegal” by the high court.

    Adhikari who had also been grilled by the CBI earlier told reporters in Kolkata he could not get in touch with his family over the phone.

    “They did not intimate us about the visit to our house today. I am in Kolkata in connection with the July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally of the TMC. Had I been around, I would have treated them to muri (puffed rice),” he said.

    ED sleuths also carried out simultaneous raids at the residences of former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, Manik Bhattacharya, as well as the board’s interim-president Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi, who is also its secretary.

    The TMC described the concerted raids as a “ploy” by the BJP government at the Centre to harass political opponents.

    “This raid by ED, a day after the spectacular Martyrs’ Day rally that created ripples all over the country, is nothing but an attempt to harass and intimidate leaders of the TMC. “The CBI has already interrogated them (ministers) as part of a court directive and they are cooperating. Now, the ED is being invoked only to discredit them. The money laundering issue is being invented by the BJP,” senior TMC leader and minister Firhad Hakim said.

    The BJP, however, alleged that the TMC aided large-scale anomalies in the recruitment process of teachers at the primary, upper primary and secondary levels since coming to power in the state.

    “TMC leaders and people close to them duped lakhs of qualified youths and handed over their jobs to ineligible ones. The CBI and ED are progressing on the right path. More skeletons will tumble out of the cupboard. The BJP has no role to play in the issue,” the saffron party’s national vice-president, Dilip Ghosh, added.

    (With PTI Inputs)

    KOLKATA:  A day after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of misusing central agencies against her party leaders, Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths arrived at former education minister and party secretary general Partha Chatterjee’s house in Kolkata on Friday and interrogated him for nearly 10 hours over alleged irregularities in recruitment of teachers in schools through the School Service Commission. 

    The ED recovered Rs 20 crore from one of the locations, owned by a woman known to Chatterjee. “During the course of searches, the ED recovered Rs 20 crore cash from the residential premises of Arpita Mukherjee. The sum is suspected to be proceeds of SSC scam,” ED stated.

    ED teams, comprising 80 personnel, conducted simultaneous raids at 13 locations, including houses of state minister Paresh Adhikari in Cooch Behar and former advisor of SSC’s screening committee Santi Prasad Sinha.

    Chatterjee, who is now the commerce and industries minister, has been interrogated by the CBI twice in this case.

    While he could not be contacted, Adhikari said, “I am in Kolkata. I heard that ED officials reached my house but I don’t know the details.’’

    Besides, they carried out simultaneous raids in the houses of former advisor of the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) Shanti Prasad Sinha, ex-president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education Kalyanmoy Ganguly and nine others, the official said.

    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 is tracking the money trail in the scam.

    “ED is carrying out search operations at various premises linked to recruitment scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Primary Education Board,” the agency said on its official Twitter handle.

    The agency shared four photographs of piles of cash in the denomination of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 besides a number of sealed packets inside a room, without disclosing the quantity or the owner of the place.

    ED sources, however, said that around Rs 20 crore in cash and more than 15 mobile phones were seized from the residence of a woman, a close associate of Chatterjee, in the city’s Tollygunge area following a raid there in the evening, an official said.

    It is learnt that she has acted in several Bengali, Odia and Tamil films in recent years.

    At least 7-8 ED officials reached the Naktala residence of Chatterjee, the former education minister, at around 8:30 am with a few CRPF personnel keeping guard outside.

    They questioned him for more than 11 hours about the alleged scam.

    At one point of time, the senior Trinamool Congress leader complained of uneasiness following which a team of doctors from the state-run SSKM Hospital were called by the ED sleuths, a source said.

    “An ECG was conducted on the minister and his condition was stable,” said the source, who is close to the minister.

    During the interrogation, ED officials took away mobile phones of the minister’s personal assistant as well as the security guards.

    Chatterjee, currently industries and commerce minister, held the education portfolio when the scam was allegedly pulled off.

    He was interrogated by the CBI twice earlier, once on April 26 and then on May 18.

    Raids were also conducted at the residence of one of Chatterjee’s close associates at Pingla in Paschim Medinipur district, an official of the ED said, though he declined to comment whether the raid was in connection with the probe into the same scam or not.

    The agency sleuths, who raided Adhikari’s residence at Mekhliganj in Cooch Behar district questioned his family members including his daughter Ankita Adhikari in his absence, he stated.

    Ankita recently lost her job as an assistant teacher at a government school where she was appointed through the SSC two years ago after it was found “illegal” by the high court.

    Adhikari who had also been grilled by the CBI earlier told reporters in Kolkata he could not get in touch with his family over the phone.

    “They did not intimate us about the visit to our house today. I am in Kolkata in connection with the July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally of the TMC. Had I been around, I would have treated them to muri (puffed rice),” he said.

    ED sleuths also carried out simultaneous raids at the residences of former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, Manik Bhattacharya, as well as the board’s interim-president Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi, who is also its secretary.

    The TMC described the concerted raids as a “ploy” by the BJP government at the Centre to harass political opponents.

    “This raid by ED, a day after the spectacular Martyrs’ Day rally that created ripples all over the country, is nothing but an attempt to harass and intimidate leaders of the TMC. “The CBI has already interrogated them (ministers) as part of a court directive and they are cooperating. Now, the ED is being invoked only to discredit them. The money laundering issue is being invented by the BJP,” senior TMC leader and minister Firhad Hakim said.

    The BJP, however, alleged that the TMC aided large-scale anomalies in the recruitment process of teachers at the primary, upper primary and secondary levels since coming to power in the state.

    “TMC leaders and people close to them duped lakhs of qualified youths and handed over their jobs to ineligible ones. The CBI and ED are progressing on the right path. More skeletons will tumble out of the cupboard. The BJP has no role to play in the issue,” the saffron party’s national vice-president, Dilip Ghosh, added.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Recruitment scam: CBI finds disparity between versions of Bengal minister, advisory panel members

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: CBI sleuths, during interrogation on the irregularities detected in school appointments of West Bengal, have found discrepancies in the versions presented by state minister Partha Chatterjee with that of members of an advisory committee that looked into the recruitments, an official of the agency said on Friday.

    According to the official, the minister told the CBI that he had very little information about the advisory committee’s day-to-day functioning and practically no control over it.

    The Bengal minister has been summoned again by the agency next week, he said Chatterjee, who is currently holding the portfolios of Parliamentary Affairs, Industry and Commerce, was on Wednesday grilled for over three hours in connection with the irregularities, which had taken place during his tenure as the education minister.

    “Mr Chatterjee was also asked to specify his role as the education minister of the state during the interrogation. There are several discrepancies in the versions of the minister with that of members of the advisory committee. We have to get answers to these questions. We have summoned Chatterjee again next week,” the CBI official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

    Sleuths of the central agency are likely to question Chatterjee next week on three points — recruitment process of teachers, proceedings of School Service Commission advisory committee and monetary irregularities — he explained.

    Meanwhile, the probe agency on Friday grilled minister of state for education, Paresh Adhikari, for nine hours as the part of the investigation into the recruitment scam.

    On Thursday, too, Adhikari, after much drama that had unfolded after he and his daughter went temporarily missing, appeared before the agency detectives for his questioning.

    The minister was “not cooperating” with the CBI sleuths, when asked him several questions about his daughter appointment to a state government-aided school, the official added.

    Notably, the Calcutta High Court, which has directed the CBI to inquire into the scam, on Friday dismissed Adhikari’s daughter from her job and asked her to return the salary she had drawn during her tenure as a teacher.