Another ‘scam’ has tarnished TMC’s image, CM needs to do more about corruption
Another ‘scam’ has tarnished TMC’s image, CM needs to do more about corruption
Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrest of West Bengal Industries and Commerce Minister Partha Chatterjee The alleged School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam has put the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in trouble. Even more embarrassment than the recovery of cash and jewelery worth ₹ 21 crore from the house of Arpita MukherjeeAllegations that an aide of the minister, money for appointments in government schools, have raised difficult questions for the TMC leadership.
This is not the first time the ruling party has had to defend corruption charges. But unlike earlier occasions, TMC has distanced itself from the minister. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC President Mamta Banerjee has kept herself away from this controversy Saying that he has no knowledge about the scam and the minister should be given life imprisonment if found guilty. His remarks were also a way to free the party and the government from the deed. It marks a departure from the Narada sting video and Saradha and other chit fund scams where the party alleged a conspiracy and defended its leadership.
Allegations of irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in government schools have been going on in full swing for the last few years. Job seekers have been protesting for days and months in Kolkata. However, the state government turned a blind eye to such allegations and protests.
The inquiry into the alleged irregularities was initiated only on the intervention of the Calcutta High Court. Between September 2021 and July 2022, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe irregularities in appointments in at least eight cases. The FIR and action by the ED, including the arrest of the minister, comes after the CBI filed complaints on the directions of the High Court. The recovery of a huge cache of cash and the arrest of Mr. Chatterjee rocked the matter.
TMC has not taken action against the minister, despite outrage over the arrest and seizure. Mr Chatterjee will continue to be a cabinet minister and a key functionary of the TMC. Another minister, Paresh Chandra Adhikari, against whom the High Court had alleged that his daughter was appointed as a teacher in a government school while the examinees who secured high marks were denied jobs. Was directed to register a case against him, he remains in the post.
Unemployment remains one of the biggest issues in the state. Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, West Bengal witnessed protests at the gram panchayat level over corruption in the distribution of welfare schemes. No generalization of corruption in government jobs can be allowed in a state with a population of about 10 crores, which is very little. Clearly, Ms. Banerjee needs to do more on the issue of corruption. For the BJP and the Left which failed to organize a movement on the issue of corruption, the arrests have provided ammunition to target the government.
The experience of the people of the state with the central investigative agencies has also not been satisfactory. Despite a decade of investigation into Saradha and other chit fund scams, the investigation is yet to be completed and the swindled investigators are waiting for their money. In the Narada sting case, the central agencies are chasing only those who are with the TMC and have spared those who joined the BJP. In the alleged SSC recruitment scam, with the fate of thousands of job seekers, it is imperative for central agencies to do better so that these young men and women, some of whom have even crossed the age of recruitment, get justice.
shivsahai.s@thehindu.co.in