Beyond SSC scam: Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee is hardly new to controversies

West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee is in a soup over his alleged involvement in the government school teacher recruitment scam. The ED has got the custody of the minister and his aide Arpita Mukherjee, a TV actor, till August 3. Mukherjee has also been named in the scam. 

Court orders ED custody for both West Bengal Minister and former Education Minister of the state, Partha Chatterjee, and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee till 3rd August. Medical check up should be done after every 48 hours.

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2022

Partha Chatterjee was admitted to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar after he complained of uneasiness and health issues when the ED came to interrogate him in the case. The Calcutta High Court had ordered to get Chatterjee medically examined at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.

#WATCH | West Bengal Minister and former Education Minister of the state, Partha Chatterjee, arrives at Bhubaneswar airport along with ED officials. To be taken to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. pic.twitter.com/Rw7eBYkGsP

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2022

Doctors at the hospital ruled that Chatterjee didn't require admission and discharged him. He has since landed in Kolkata and is in ED custody now. 

He (Partha Chatterjee) was having problems because of his chronic illness. We investigated and the report has been submitted to the High Court, there was not much chest pain. He is in stable condition and will be discharged today: Dr Ashutosh Biswas, Director AIIMS Bhubaneswar pic.twitter.com/f2mBQtBXFv

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2022

What is the scam? The scam relates to irregularities in the recruitment for government and government-aided schools run by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). Partha Chatterjee was the Education Minister of West Bengal between 2014-21 when the scam allegedly took place. 

It is alleged that Partha Chatterjee and other involved parties took bribes in exchange for allotting the government school teacher positions to ineligible candidates. It is also reported that family members of those involved were also given the jobs despite being ineligible. Other eligible and merit-holding candidates were deprived of the jobs. 

How did the scam come to light? All hell broke loose when four unsuccessful candidates approached the Calcutta High Court, alleging irregularities in the recruitment of teachers. One of them also cited the recruitment of the daughter of another Bengal Minister of State for Education Paresh Adhikari who was given a government teacher position despite allegedly not meeting the requirements. She was dismissed from her job by the Calcutta High Court later. 

Rs. 20 crore cash recovered by @dir_ed from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee; close aide of WB Education Minister Partha Chatterjee in the SSC scam case.
Sources claim that piles of cash were found inside WB Govt Education Ministry envelopes with
National Emblem printed on them. pic.twitter.com/xLsWQeVzL2

— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) July 22, 2022

The CBI is currently investigating the case while the ED has taken over its money laundering aspects. Troubles for Partha Chatterjee, who holds the Commerce and Industries portfolio in the West Bengal government, mounted when the ED recovered Rs 20 crore in unaccounted cash from his close aide Arpita Mukherjee's residence. 

ED is carrying out search operations at various premises linked to recruitment scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Primary Education Board. pic.twitter.com/i4dP2SAeGG

— ED (@dir_ed) July 22, 2022

Arpita Mukherjee is also in ED custody now. She has appeared in various Bengali and Odia films and knew Chatterjee from his famous Durga Puja committee, 'Naktala Udayan Sangha'.

The controversies of Partha Chatterjee: The current teacher recruitment scam is not the only case that has Partha Chatterjee embroiled in it.

He was called for interrogation by agencies in the I-Core chit fund scam and the Saradha chit fund case as well. 

The I-Core chit fund scam came to light in 2015 for allegedly laundering Rs 3,000 crore using the money collected from small investors and duping them. The CBI zeroed in on Partha Chatterjee due to a video in which he appeared with the chief of the I-Core group Anukul Maity on a stage, singing praises for the company at a time when complaints were mounting. 

Partha Chatterjee's name also allegedly cropped up in the Saradha chit fund case during the interrogation of TMC MP Derek O'Brien. 

How rich is Partha Chatterjee? Though reports say that Chatterjee came from a middle-class family and rose in ranks in politics, his wealth is under scrutiny now. 

1. According to his 2021 election affidavit filings, his total declared wealth is around Rs 1.15 crore.
2. The apartment, Arpita Mukherjee's residence where the ED found Rs 20 crore, was reportedly a gift from Chatterjee. 
3. He also owns three more apartments in South Kolkata.
4. One of the luxury apartments exclusively houses his dogs. The AC is left on at all times of the day in the apartment for the dogs. Chatterjee also has two caretakers to look after the pets.
5. In 2018, he also told the media that he was setting up a hospital for dogs and cats in South Kolkata. The hospital was to be built in the memory of his wife, who died in 2017.  
6. Reportedly, Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee also jointly own an apartment in Bolpur.
7. Investigators are also probing seven houses and apartments in various other locations that are reportedly related to the case. 
8. In 2016, a report said that Partha Chatterjee's wealth, according to his election filings, went from Rs 7.8 lakh to Rs 80 lakh. 

In politics: The case is damning for the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC in West Bengal because Partha Chatterjee is one of the top leaders in the party and a close aide of Banerjee herself. He is also a minister in the West Bengal cabinet and holds three portfolios - Ministry for Industry, Commerce and Enterprise, Ministry for Information Technology and Electronics, and Ministry for Parliamentary Affairs. He's known to be No 3 in command in the party after Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. 

Partha Chatterjee is also the current secretary-general of the TMC party. He has been the go-to man for West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in all party organisational matters and is credited to have managed the dissident leaders. 

However, the relationship between the party and the leader seems to have taken a turn. Mamata Banerjee, who accused the Centre and BJP of using government agencies to harass opposition leaders upon CBI's interrogation of Chatterjee, has now reportedly refused to speak to the party leader. 

Why is TMC not taking action against Partha Chatterjee? Listen in what West Bengal minister @DrShashiPanja said.

Watch #NewsToday with @sardesairajdeep : https://t.co/QqwwEBN82f#ITHighlights #ParthaChatterjee #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/kj2xj00arD

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) July 25, 2022

Chatterjee reportedly called the Chief Minister four times on July 23, upon his arrest, but he wasn't able to reach her. The party has since distanced itself from the corruption scandal. Now, Mamata Banerjee has reiterated that her government has nothing to do with the case and that the guilty must be punished, if necessary with life imprisonment.