West Bengal minister hospitalised after arrest by ED in school jobs scam

West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister Partha Chatterjee who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate ED on Saturday morning in connection with the school jobs scam was hospitalised in the evening after he fell illThe minister was arrested following a marathon 26hourlong grilling at his house an ED official saidThe Trinamool Congress said that the party and the government will take action against arrested senior minister Partha Chatterjee if he is proven guilty of the scamIn a press conference held around nine hours after Chatterjees arrest TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also made it clear that presently the party would not remove him as a cabinet minister or the secretary general of the Trinamool CongressAfter arresting Chatterjee the central agency produced him in a local court that sent to ED custody for two daysHis lawyer argued in the court that since no unaccounted money and documents have been found at his residential premises but at the house of a person not connected with TMC or the government he should be granted bail which the ED lawyers of the directorate opposedHis counsel told reporters that as it was a Saturday he would be again produced before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA court on MondayIn the evening Chatterjee who has several health issues was admitted to the ICCU of the staterun SSKM Hospital after he complained of uneasinessSeveral tests including ECG were conducted on the TMC secretary general and his condition is stable an official of the hospital said The TMC secretary general was the state education minister when the alleged irregularities took placeED also arrested Arpita Mukherjee believed to be Chatterjees close aide from whose flat around Rs 21 crore in cash was seized during a raid on Friday the agency official saidThe TMC spokesperson said that the party has no relation with her or the money discovered from her flatChatterjee who was the state education minister from 2014 to 2021 was grilled by the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI in April and May this year in connection with the scamThe TMC which has maintained a stoic silence on the issue throughout the day held a press conference in the eveningWe have full faith in the judiciary If Partha Chatterjee is pronounced guilty by the court then the party and the government will take action against him TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh saidSpeaker Biman Banerjee said that the ED must inform the speaker before arresting a member of the assemblyThe ED or CBI while arresting any MP or MLA has to inform the speaker of the Lok Sabha or the state assembly This is the constitutional norm But I have not received any communication from the ED about Chatterjees arrest he saidThe opposition BJP went hammer and tongs over the development and demanded a reply from the chief ministerThe arrest reflects the Bengal model of development practised by TMC leaders BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar claimedThe BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha staged protest rallies across the state against the scamMeanwhile a group of protestors who have been on a sitin demonstration for more than 450 days at the Gandhi statue at Mayo Road in the city welcomed the arrest and hoped that justice would be delivered soonThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever