SSC scam: Who is Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal minister arrested by ED?

After over 24 hours of marathon interrogation, the Enforcement Directorate arrested West Bengal cabinet minister and Trinamoo Congress seceretary general Partha Chatterjee on Saturday, July 23, morning.

Chatterjee was being interrogated in connection with the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scam. Reportedly, Chatterjee was arrested for his non cooperation in the probe after ED recovered Rs 20 crore cash and 20 mobile phones from his close aide Arpita Mukherjee's residence.

Since then, Chatterjee started ducking questions, especially those related to his close links with Arpita Mukherjee. Finally at around 10.15 am, after he was grilled for over 24 hours at his residence at Naktala in South Kolkata, he was arrested.

TMC minister, who holds the portfolio of Commerce and Industry, was the state's education minister when the scam happened.

Who is he?

Partha Chatterjee before joining politics was working as an HR professional with industrial conglomerate Andrew Yule. He was elected as an MLA from Behala Paschim in 2001 and later re-elected in years 2006 and 2011.

The MLA was sworn in as a Cabinet minister under Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee in 2011 and was then alloted Commerce and Industry, Public Enterprises, Information Technology and Electronics and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios.

Chatterjee, in the same year, was nominated as deputy leader of the house.

After the 2016 elections, he was Minister-in-charge of Higher Education and School Department along with other portfolios. Hpwever, after 2021 polls, the education ministry was given to Bratya Basu.