A day after he was relieved of his ministerial and party responsibilities, former Trinamool Congress (TMC) heavyweight Partha Chatterjee on Friday said that he was a victim of a conspiracy.
Mr. Chatterjee, who remains in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), made these remarks while being taken to the ESI Hospital at Joka for a checkup. The former West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister and TMC secretary general also questioned the timing of the party’s decision to strip him of all responsibilities. “The timing was not right. It may influence an impartial investigation,” Mr. Chatterjee told mediapersons. Asked whether the decision of Chief Minister and party chairperson Mamata Banerjee to remove him from all positions was correct, he said “time will tell”.
Mr. Chatterjee was arrested by the ED on July 23 after the agency recovered huge cash from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, one of his associates. So far, cash valued at more than ₹50 crore and several kilograms of gold have been recovered from Ms. Mukherjee’s residence. The ED was looking into money laundering in connection with School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam which involved irregularities in recruitment of State-run schools where jobs were handed out for monetary and political considerations. The ED officials on Friday continued with their raidsacross properties of Ms. Mukherjee.Both the former Minister and his aide will remain in ED custody till August 3.
