Several TMC ministers and MLAs face ire of central agencies

Since 2021, a host of senior TMC ministers and MLAs have been arrested by the CBI and ED after their names cropped up in a series of corruption cases.

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders have been at the receiving end of the probes conducted by the central agencies over corruption in the recent years with the latest instance being TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha who was arrested by the CBI today. Senior party leaders namely Firhad Hakim and late Subrata Mukherjee were booked by the central agencies two years back while Partha Chatterjee was arrested last year.

Saha was arrested by the CBI on Monday after questioning him for around three days in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam. Saha, accused of not cooperating in the investigation, was first interrogated in his residence in Murshidabad's Burwan and then taken to Kolkata. He is the third TMC MLA to be arrested in connection with the alleged scam after Partha Chatterjee and Manik Bhattacharya.

In July 2022, former education minister and heavyweight TMC leader Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non teaching staff in government, sponsored and aided schools in the state. The agency had recovered Rs 52 crore from his residence and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee's flats and four luxury cars. TMC suspended Chatterjee and sacked him as a minister.

Manik Bhattacharya, an MLA and former president of West Bengal Board of Primary Education was arrested in October 2022. The CBI and ED are investigating the alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal on orders of the Calcutta High Court. It has been alleged that money was collected from candidates by promising them jobs as teachers.

In a separate case relating to alleged cattle smuggling, Anubrata Mondal was arrested by the CBI in July 2022 and later the ED arrested him in the same case in August 2022. Mondal is considered to be a close aide of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee and was the TMC Birbhum district president. Also, chief minister's nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his wife were questioned several times by the agency in another case of alleged coal scam.

In May 2021, the CBI arrested ministers Firhad Hakim and late Subrata Mukherjee along with the then ministers Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee in connection with the Narada scam. Narada news carried out a sting operation wherein TMC ministers, MPs and MLAs were reportedly seen receiving money in exchange of favours. The Narada sting tapes were claimed to have been shot in 2014 but were made public prior to the 2016 Assembly elections in West Bengal.

Chief Minister has publicly defended her party colleagues who were arrested after being charged in corruption cases and hit out at the BJP for selectively acting against the Opposition parties.