West Bengal: Kuntal Ghosh & Santanu Banerjee expelled from party, says Trinamool Congress

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress on Tuesday said it has expelled party leaders Kuntal Ghosh and Santanu Banerjee, both arrested in the school recruitment scam probe.
Speaking to reporters, state minister Shashi Panja said: "I would reiterate that the party has zero tolerance to corruption. If anyone is implicated in corruption or if they have done anything wrong, the onus is on them to prove their innocence. The party has nothing to do with it. The seizures were not made in any party office that the party has to explain either."
"Unlike other parties, if our elected representatives, party-holders or their relatives are involved in this, we have taken action against them," she added.
Panja said, "The investigation is being done by CBI and ED based on court orders. CBI and ED should share whatever information they receive with the courts, but instead, they are sharing it in the public domain. This clearly shows an intention to malign the reputation of Trinamool leaders without any evidence. Trinamool is being pushed into media trials repeatedly. This is why we emphasise once again on our demand for a time-bound investigation."
State minister Bratya Basu said: "This is Joseph in the Kafka novel. The courts have time and again called for a speedy investigation and we too demand the same. The Saradha case began in 2014 and the Narada case started in 2016, but the trials in both cases have not started yet."
Panja said, "Suvendu Adhikari (leader of opposition) has not been questioned despite us putting forth specific information regarding him. And instead, he is threatening a state minister (Partha Bhowmik) of arrest right inside the assembly. Is he then dictating terms to central agencies?"
"It has been three days since we said that among those whose jobs have been terminated, 55 were recommended by Adhikari. One among them is his close aide. Has any enquiry been made? No. Has anyone been questioned? No. But the agencies are nudging these cases towards media trial," she said.
Earlier, Trinamool took a step ahead after stripping the then secretary general Partha Chatterjee from ministerial and party posts. Kolkata mayor and state urban development minister Firhad Hakim on Tuesday openly denounced Chatterjee's alleged involvement in the money-for-jobs scam.
"Taking money for giving jobs is a shame. I don't know this Partha-da I had worked with for so many years. All this was beyond my dream. I could never imagine that someone would take money by promising them jobs," Hakim said. "We all want our party workers to get jobs. But giving a job to someone by denying it to the deserving is a sin," he added.
Calling the Bengal CM the "emblem of honesty", Hakim said: "Even the moon has a blemish, but Mamata Banerjee doesn't. She placed her trust on individuals. She had to rely on people because our organization has grown big."