Chinmay Prasun Biswas :
Partha Chaterjee, the former industries and ICT minister of West Bengal and secretary general of ruling Trinamool Congress, is now at the centre of discussion. It is alleged that as education minister in Mamata Banerjee’s earlier cabinet Partha Chaterjee took money (please read ‘bribe’) from many candidates promising them jobs in teaching and non-teaching posts in government-run schools. That money has been stored in two flats of Arpita Mukherjee (personal assistant and close friend of Partha Chaterjee). Reportedly, Arpita has claimed that sometimes staff of Partha Chaterjee came to her flat and preserved that money in a room but she had no access to that room.
On 22nd July, officers of ED (Enforcement Directorate, the central government agency empowered to investigate money laundering and foreign exchange rules violation cases) went to his house. After initial interrogation when they were coming back they came across a deed. Following that deed they raided two flats of Arpita, and recovered huge amounts of cash money, gold and diamond jewellery. Amount of cash money was so huge that it was not possible to count manually. A counting machine was brought from the bank and after counting the amount was found 49.80 crore rupees as claimed by ED (Anandabazar, 28th July, 2022) and jewellery weighing 6 kgs costing 4.31 crore rupees. After a marathon interrogation of 27 hours Partha Chaterjee was arrested on 26th July.
After the arrest of Partha Chaterjee, in a television interview Baishakhi Banerjee, the former general secretary of the Trinamool Congress Professors’ Association, said that Partha Chatterjee made her general secretary of the association with the intention of preventing theft and making the education system free from corruption. But after joining that post my (Baishakhi) eyes were opened. There is a web of corruption all around. I was in the close circle of Partha Chatterjee. I saw and heard everything with my eyes closed. It seemed that the department of education was turning into an academic mafia. Partha Chaterjee used to say, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given the seal of approval on my every work. She further said that she was suffocated to see the state of corruption in the education department and claimed that the chief minister’s office also got a share of the bribe money from the education department. She heard this from officials of the education department. (Prothom Alo, 26th July, 2022).
Quitting a high rank in multi-national company Partha Chatterjee joined Mamata Banerjee’s party and ascended the chair of general secretary and influential cabinet minister. Now he has been forced to descend from that heavenly position. Partha Chatterjee himself is now blocked within the net of ED. After being arrested he called Mamata Banerjee over mobile phone four times but she did not respond.
However, Partha Chatterjee has been removed from the post of minister due to corruption in a cabinet meeting on 28th July and afterwards from the post of secretary general of his party. Yet, claiming ED’s search and arrest as a trap Mamata Banerjee opened lips in an official programme on 27th July and said, “Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose wrote, ‘Right to make blunder.’ “Doesn’t anyone make mistakes? If someone makes a mistake action will be taken against him if it is proved legally. He will be punished.” The opposition camp considers that quoting Netajiis actually a defensive statement because she is repeatedly saying that anybody may commit a mistake if he works. Partha also made a mistake. She also said, “Partha Chatterjee’s corruption has nothing to do with the party and the state government. I don’t mind life imprisonment for corruption. Rather, let them be judged quickly and punished. If you are guilty you must be punished. There is no concession to crime.” As usual, she also accused the centre of misusing the central agency but this accusation could not save Partha Chaterjee.
After this comment, the opposition party said that Mamata must take responsibility for this corruption. Now in danger she wants to shake off the responsibility of Partha Chatterjee’s corruption.
As reported in Khaas Khabar, Kolkata, many questions are coming forward. Why didn’t the chief minister, who presented himself as symbol of integrity, take immediate action against Partha Chatterjee? Why after six days? All opponents are saying that the leader tried to hide Partha from the beginning. But as a mountain of money started coming forward one after another and sex toys have been recovered, the chief minister is forced to take such drastic measures to protect her image.
(The writer is a former
Commissioner of Taxes).
