News Analysis India

Tag: Trinamnool

  • 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.

  • Narada case: Firhad Hakim’s daughter appeals to Trinamool supporters to stay home, not demonstrate

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Daughter of West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim, arrested in the Narada sting case, Shabba Hakim has appealed to TMC supporters and her fathers followers not to gather in front of the correctional home or their residence on Wednesday when the Calcutta High Court will hear the Narada case again.

    Alleging that the CBI could grab the opportunity to showcase that the law and order was breaking down, in case supporters of arrested Trinamool Congress leaders staged protests as they did on Monday, Shabba appealed to supporters to stay at home and desist from violating Covid safety protocols.

    “Besides, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, we have been appealing to baba’s (fathers) supporters not to gather outside our residence or in front of Presidency Correctional Home but to stay at home amid this Covid pandemic. We have personally telephoned our party workers appealing to them on this. We do not want the CBI to take advantage when the court hears us tomorrow,” Hakim told PTI.

    On Monday, TMC supporters had taken to the streets and protested outside CBI offices at Nizam Palace, Presidency Correctional Home and Raj Bhavans.

    Some had taken to pelting stones, while others raised slogans.

    Shabba, who is a doctor by profession also said that her father is not really bothered about his plight in jail, but his inability to discharge his duties amid the COVID-19 surge has left him ill at ease.

    In the morning, Shabba had met Hakim in the Presidency correctional home here.

    “Baba is not sad because he is away from us. What concerns him is the work that he was supposed to undertake amid the COVID-19 crisis. He would leave home every morning to attend to the people in need of help,” Shabba rued.

    She also said the state transport minister was trying to cope with the sudden turn of events.

    “As of now, Baba is okay. We are keeping a tab on his health condition. But we are also worried. The Supreme Court had noted that chances of virus transmission were high in prison,” she added.

    The CBI on Monday arrested two state ministers – Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee besides MLA Madan Mitra and former party leader Sovan Chatterjee in connection with its probe into the Narada sting operation, which purportedly caught politicians accepting bribes on camera.

    They were initially granted interim bail by a special CBI court, but the central probe agency subsequently moved the Calcutta High Court, which stayed the lower court order till further hearing.

    Taking to Twitter, Shabba, the second of Hakim’s three daughters, had criticised the CBI on Monday afternoon for not releasing the four leaders, despite the lower court having granted them bail.

    “Even after the bail order has come through, CBI is detaining @FirhadHakim, @MLA_Subrata, @madanmitraoff and Sovan Chatterjee illegally. They are disregarding the verdict of the court.#shamecbi,” she had tweeted.