CBI grills Partha Chatterjee on committee members role, external pressure

Chatterjee, who was the education minister when the alleged illegal appointments were made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), was questioned in three shifts at the CBI office here, a senior CBI official said. As per information, he was quizzed on how the board members were selected and their role in the recruitment process.

Kolkata: West Bengal Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee on Wednesday faced nine and a half hours of intense grilling by the Central Bureau of Investigation sleuths regarding the alleged teacher recruitment discrepancies in West Bengal board schools. Chatterjee, who was the education minister when the alleged illegal appointments were made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), was questioned in three shifts at the CBI office here, a senior CBI official said. As per information, Chatterjee was quizzed on how the board members were selected and their role in the recruitment process.

On May 18, the sources said, Chatterjee told the interrogating officials that although he constituted a five-member screening committee for the purpose of recruitment, he did not have the control or knowledge of the day-to-day functioning of the said committee. A judicial committee appointed by the Calcutta High Court also accused the panel members of not just functioning illegally, but also recommending recruitments past its tenure.

The Behala Paschim MLA was also asked "under whose directive were the illegal appointments made", the source noted. It is learned that the minister was also asked why he relaxed control over the screening committee. After Chatterjee was unable to give satisfactory and consistent answers to this question, the next question that he faced was whether anyone from outside WBSSC or the state education department tried to influence the day-to-day functioning of the committee and if that has happened as the-then state education minister why did he not try to arrest that external influence.

(With agency inputs)