Partha Chatterjee sacked from Bengal cabinet, suspended from Trinamool

The West Bengal government on Thursday removed Partha Chatterjee, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in school jobs scam case, from the ministry with immediate effect.

“Partha Chatterjee, minister in charge, department of industry, commerce and enterprises, department of information technology and electronics, department of parliamentary affairs and department of public enterprises and industrial reconstruction, is hereby relieved of his duties as MIC of the aforesaid department with immediate effect,” an official order said.

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee later said at a government event here that she will look after the portfolios held by Chatterjee for the time being.

To remain suspended

Chatterjee will remain suspended from the party till the investigation into a school recruitment scam is underway, the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said on Thursday. He has been removed from all party posts, he added. Banerjee, following a meeting of the party’s disciplinary committee, also said that doors of TMC would be opened for Chatterjee only if he is proven innocent. Chatterjee was TMC’s secretary general for nearly two decades and was appointed the partys national vice-president earlier this year.

The ED had arrested Chatterjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress’ Secretary-General, on July 23 in connection with its investigation into alleged irregularities in the recruitment drives by the School Service Commission (SSC).

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The central agency has also arrested Chatterjee’s close associate Arpita Mukherjee, and seized crores of rupees from her houses in different parts of the city.

(With inputs from agencies)