New Delhi: Amid the ongoing probe by the Enforcement Directorate into the West Bengal SSC teacher recruitment scam, the BJP has once again attacked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the alleged intimate relationship between Minister Partha Chatterjee, arrested for his alleged involvement in the scam, and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee. Launching a scathing attack on Mamata, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that TMC stands for “Too Much Corruption” which the party is trying to portray as “Too Much Coincidence”.
Poonawalla also tweeted pictures of Arpita Mukherjee, also arrested by the ED, and Partha Chatterjee who were seen sitting on the TMC stage, and asked, “Didi, yeh rishta kya kehlata hai? Too Much Co incidence or Too Much Corruption? What was Arpita doing in such programs? SSC scam is a scam by TMC, of TMC, for TMC.”
Interestingly, Mamata Banerjee had on Monday said that she does not support corruption. Hitting out at her, the BJP claimed that the WB SSC scam “under her nose” shows “complete administrative failure” of the TMC chief.
Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla said, “TMC stands for Too Much Corruption. Mamata government is making attempts to give it a form of `Too Much Coincidence`. It is a complete administrative failure of Mamata Banerjee that such a scam took place under her nose. Her senior associate was doing a scam and she was not aware of it.”
The BJP leader alleged that the corruption has been done not by an individual, but by the TMC. “The pictures of Arpita have also surfaced showing her on the TMC stage. Is this also a coincidence? When Rs 21 crore was recovered from her residence, besides that, envelopes of the state Education Ministry were also found which linked her to Partha Chatterjee. Admit cards were also found there. Is this also a coincidence? Was Mamata Banerjee herself praising Arpita? The way cash has been found shows that it is a corruption done by the TMC,” he said.
Poonawalla asked the West Bengal Chief Minister to take responsibility for the actions of her Minister. “A lot of proof has come to the fore. No matter how much Mamata tries to shy away from the allegations, now she has to take responsibility. She cannot say that she was unaware of the events taking place. It means that she does not have any control over her government and administration,” he said.
“The division bench of Calcutta High Court had cancelled the admission of the son of Mamata`s Education Minister. What action was taken against the Minister? Has Partha Chatterjee been suspended so far? All of it seems to be a case of `Too Much Corruption`,” Poonawalla alleged.
Mamata on Monday broke her silence and asserted that she `doesn`t support corruption. “I don`t support corruption. I get a Rs 1 lakh pension from Parliament and Rs 2 lakh as a state MLA. Now count how much money I have made in the last 11 years. I have not taken a single penny besides this. My service is voluntary. Friends, I am sad and disheartened at the attitude of some political party in the last two days,” said the West Bengal CM.
Chatterjee who was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday dialled party supremo Mamata Banerjee after his arrests, revealed an official document. ED personnel raided several locations in the state on July 22 as part of their probe into the money trail involved in a teacher recruitment scam at government-sponsored and aided schools. Crores of rupees in cash, along with other items, were allegedly recovered from Mukherjee`s residence, sources said.
Chatterjee`s close associate Arpita Mukherjee was also arrested as part of the ED`s investigation into the scam. ED arrested Mukherjee after it recovered huge cash amounting to approximately Rs 20 crore from her residence on Friday.