Will act if minister found guilty: TMC

Kolkata: Following the arrest of Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case, Trinamool Congress accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using probe agencies for political vendetta. The party also said that it will take action against the minister if he is proven guilty and urged the ED to conduct a time-bound investigation, claiming that the money recovered has no links with the party.

Chatterjee and his aide were arrested on Saturday in a case linked to the alleged teachers' recruitment scam in the state.

"We are closely watching the situation and we all have faith in the judiciary. After the judiciary gives its verdict, we will be able to make a decision. The All India Trinamool Congress will not tolerate any malpractice in the party or government. After the judiciary comes out with its verdict, then only the Trinamool Congress will act. We believe the BJP is behind the play. Whoever has switched to BJP has been untouched and whoever has stayed back is being harassed," Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim said.

"We have seen that in the past, if a guilty leader joins the BJP, the person goes scot-free. It seems that the BJP is afraid of the huge gathering that the city witnessed at the party's Martyrs' Day rally on July 21," Hakim said.

Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also made it clear that presently the party would not remove Chatterjee as a Cabinet minister or the secretary general of TMC.

The party also claimed that it has no relation with the arrested minister's close associate Arpita Mukherjee, from whose residence around Rs 21 crore in unaccounted cash was seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday.

"The TMC has full faith in the judiciary. If Partha Chatterjee is pronounced guilty by the court, the party and the government will take action against him," Ghosh told a press conference here.

He further maintained: "The opposition parties — CPI(M), BJP and the Congress — are lapping up these stories and claiming to take the high ground. It does not suit them at all. We know all about their scams too. We condemn the political witch-hunt that has been perpetrated by the BJP. The investigative agencies are in the hand of the BJP. They are using it politically, which is unfair, and we will not accept it. The CPI(M) too is raising its voice. A party which is left with zero seats in Bengal, have they forgotten about the scams in their tenure? Congress party is unique. In Bengal, they are claiming that the ED is good, while in Delhi, they are protesting against the same ED."

The party demanded a time-bound investigation on the money trail that the ED is probing alleging that there have been various instances when investigation agencies have dragged cases on for years, without any final verdict. "We wish to know more from the ED about the source of the recovered money. We request them to probe the matter at the earliest, instead of floating stories," Ghosh said.

Reacting to Chatterjee's claim that he tried to contact Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the questioning but could not connect to her, Hakim wondered how it was possible as phones are generally seized when any raid by the central agency begins.

The press conference came after an hour-long meeting at TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's office in the presence of the party's top brass.

On the arrest of Arpita Mukherjee, Ghosh said: "We want to clearly say that the party has no relation with the woman or the money that was recovered from her residence. The party neither supports any crime nor does it support any wrongdoing."

Apart from Ghosh and Hakim, TMC leaders Aroop Biswas and Chandrima Bhattacharya were also present during the media meet.