[ad_1]
By Rajesh Saha: Jailed former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Partha Chatterjee, arrested in the alleged Bengal teacher recruitment scam, has claimed that he was innocent and victim of a larger conspiracy.
The former minister had spoken to his lawyer, who told India Today that he wasn’t the recruiter in the alleged scam. “There was a conspiracy behind the plot which might be internal or external or both. I was only the minister in-charge in the education department and a minister is not the executive person. A minister is only for policy making. The concerned secretary is always the executive,” Partha Chatterjee’s lawyer quoted him as saying.
ALSO READ | Bengal teachers’ recruitment scam: TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha arrested after 65-hour CBI questioning
“I wasn’t the recruiter. There are few education boards which are completely autonomous bodies and run on their own. Minister doesn’t have any role and access for direct recruitment into schools,” he added.
However, Partha’s lawyer Sukanya Bhattacharya said that he did not name anyone while making the claims.
Sukanya Bhattacharya also said that Partha Chatterjee raised questions behind the appointment of chairman into education boards.
“Santi Prasad Sinha, who was the chief advisor to the West Bengal school service commission, wasn’t my man. He was associated with a renowned law college in south Kolkata earlier before appointment as the chief advisor to Bengal school service commission,” the former minister told his lawyer.
ALSO READ | Bengal TMC MLA throws mobile phones in pond during CBI raids, search underway
Patha Chatterjee, who was suspended from the TMC after allegations of corruption surfaced against him last year, is currently lodged in cell number 2 in Kolkata’s Presidency Jail.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Partha Chatterjee in July 2022 in connection with its investigation into the alleged teacher recruitment scam. His aide Arpita Mukherjee was also arrested the same day.
[ad_2]
