Abdus Sattar appointed as chief advisor to Chief Minister

Kolkata: Abdus Sattar, who had served as a Cabinet minister in the erstwhile Left Front government regime and was a Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, has been appointed as the Chief Advisor of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the department of Minority Affairs & Madrasah Education.

“Sattar shall advise and aid Chief Minister Banerjee and the department of Minority Affairs & Madrasah Education (MA & ME) on all matters relating to the welfare activities for the minorities of the state,” read a notification released by the state MA & ME department. Sattar shall be entitled to emoluments, allowances and perks as admissible to a Cabinet minister of the state government, the notification stated. He may join the post after obtaining a lien from the institution he is currently serving as an associate professor.

In the 2006 Assembly election, Sattar was elected from the Amdanga Constituency. He was made Minister of State for minority development, welfare and madrasah education in the Left Front government when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was the Chief Minister.

In 2018, Sattar defected to the Congress from the Left. In 2021, he contested the Assembly elections from Baduria in North 24-Parganas but lost.

Interestingly, Sattar was recently given the role of observer for the forthcoming by elections in Haroa by state Congress president Subhankar Sarkar. However, the former expressed his inability to take up the charge.

According to Congress sources, Sattar has already sent his resignation to Sarkar.