Despite a string of electoral successes in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress has been haunted by allegations of corruption. From the Saradha chit fund scam, which came to the fore in 2013, to the Narada sting videos in 2016, several party leaders have been arrested by central agencies. Since 2021 alone, when the school recruitment scam became known, four MLAs of the party and several district leaders have been arrested. The party’s response has varied from one case to another.
On July 23, 2022, moments before his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Partha Chatterjee, who was then secretary general of the Trinamool and a cabinet minister in the State government, called Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The call, made at a time when the ED was recovering cash and gold from the premises of Mr. Chatterjee’s associate, went unanswered. Five days after Mr. Chatterjee was arrested in the teacher recruitment scam, the Trinamool stripped him of all posts in the government and the party.
More than a year later, the party leadership is facing a similar situation. The ED had arrested another minister of the State government, Jyotipriya Mallick, in an alleged ration distribution scam. This time, the Trinamool seems confused about whether to defend Mr. Mallick, who is accused of siphoning foodgrains meant for the public distribution system through fake companies and a network of agents, or leave him in the lurch. Mr. Mallick was Minister of Food and Supplies from 2011 to 2021, and was shunted to the Forest Department after the Trinamool came to power in 2021.
