Lagatar24 Desk
Kolkata, July 25: Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of Bengal, finally spoke out on Monday against Partha Chatterjee’s arrest. She appeared to separate herself from the arrested Trinamool Congress politician she had once counted among her closest advisers by stating, “I don’t support corruption or any wrongdoing.”
She however added, “BJP is wrong if it thinks it can break my party using agencies.”
The Bengal Industries Minister, Partha Chatterjee, was detained on Saturday on suspicion of money laundering in connection with a school employment scandal. When he served as Education Minister, he was accused of having a hand in the suspected illegal hiring of teachers and personnel for government-run schools.
Around Rs 20 crores in cash were found in the home of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Partha Chatterjee. The cash found in Mukherjee’s residence was “proceeds of crime,” according to the Enforcement Directorate, which also claims that the minister was in communication with her.
“If anyone is found guilty, he or she must be punished, but I condemn any malicious campaign against me. The truth must come out, but within a time-frame,” Mamata Banerjee said.
When Partha Chatterjee was arrested, Mamata Banerjee remained silent and did not respond on the matter.
According to a “Arrest Memo,” Chatterjee called the Chief Minister three times after being detained, but none of his calls were returned. For his call to a “relative/friend whom the individual taken into prison plans to tell,” he had selected Mamata Banerjee.
After being taken into custody at roughly 1.55 am, he made his first call to her at 2.33 am. He tried again at 3.37 and 9.35 in the morning, but to no avail.
The report of calls, however, had been rejected by the Trinamool Congress. There was “no question,” according to the party’s Firhad Hakim, that the detained minister would telephone Mamata Banerjee because his phone was in the possession of the Enforcement Directorate.
