In Kolkata, Pradhan, Scindia lash out at ‘corrupt’ TMC govt – The Indian Express

Kolkata News

Coming down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government after the arrest of state Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee in the alleged SSC recruitment scam, Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday described the state government as “corrupt”.

The ministers are in the city as part of the ‘Pravas’ campaign launched by the saffron party to strengthen its organisation in 144 Lok Sabha constituencies ahead of the 2024 elections.

Pradhan, the Union Minister for Education, said, “I have heard that the former education minister has been arrested. It is sad to know that in the land of Swami Vivekananda, Vidyasagar, Aurobindo and Rabindranath Tagore a scam has taken place in the education sector. It is painful to see that over Rs 21 crore of unaccounted money has been recovered. I strongly condemn the scam that has taken place here in the requirement of teachers. We have to ensure that such things do not take place in future.” Later, Pradhan also met members of protesting SSC candidates, who have been accusing the state government of indulging in the “irregularities” in the appointment of teachers.

“It is a very unfortunate incident. The condition of Bengal, which used to inspire India in the field of education, is such that the High Court has to order a CBI inquiry against the former education minister. Even after his arrest, the former education minister is still continuing as a state minister. Where is this state heading under the current state government? The state government is playing with jobs, lives and the future of its youths,” added Pradhan, who has been made the in-charge of a cluster of five Lok Sabha seats in and around Kolkata and the ‘Pravas minister’ for Kolkata North and Jadavpur constituencies.

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Parth Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier in the day after being questioned for around 26 hours in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in state-run and -aided schools. ED Officers said cash worth more than Rs 21 crore was seized from the premises of Arpita Mukherjee, an aide of Chatterjee. Later, she was also arrested by the ED.

Meanwhile, Scindia, the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, said Chatterjee’s arrest is “evidence of the fact how people’s money is being sacrificed for corruption in the state”. Speaking with reporters at Dakshineswar Metro Station, Scindia said the people of Bengal would get to know about the corruption.

“The TMC government has crossed all limits of misgovernance and corruption. The level of corruption in the state is just shocking and unprecedented. The TMC government is no longer a government for the people, it is rather the government of corrupts. The entire government is knee-deep in corruption,” said said Scindia, who has been appointed as the ‘Pravas minister’ for the Dum Dum seat, which the BJP lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Scindia also took a Metro ride from Dakshineswar to Baranagar and interacted with locals. Later, he held closed-door organisational meetings with leaders and workers from various parts of the Dum Dum constituency.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/kolkata-pradhan-scindia-lash-out-corrupt-tmc-govt-8048010/