Dilip Ghosh, senior leader of the Bengal BJP, has alleged that the corruption case in which Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee has been arrested has links "all the way to the top", implying that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also implicated in it. He also claimed that he will take his complaints to court if need be.
"There was so much money moved, how is it possible that Mamata Banerjee does not know anything. Whatever has been sealed of Partha has amounted to over Rs 100 crore," Mr Ghosh told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
"Money has been found, there is a clear connection. How can Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool get away with that? There is property in everyone's name. There might be more involved. All this cannot be untrue," he added, pointing out that the Trinamool, which initially wanted to dismiss the inquiry now wants a "quick inquiry".
The indication was at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent comment that the truth "must come out, but within a time-frame".
Mamata Banerjee, who apparently did not respond to Mr Chatterjee's calls after his arrest, has said she would not spare anyone - thieves, dacoits, MLAs, MPs or ministers.
"But if you try to throw ink on me, even I can fling muck at you," she said today in what appeared a clear warning to the BJP. She accused the party of targeting Bengal after their successful takeover of Maharashtra and added that the "BJP is wrong if it thinks it can break my party using agencies".
Asked what if Partha Chatterjee, like Suvendu Adhikari, changes camp and joins the BJP, whether the allegations against him will go away, Dilip Ghosh brushed off the matter, saying "Who has seen tomorrow? We will see what happens tomorrow."
Partha Chatterjee - the seniormost minister in Mamata Banerjee's cabinet and her close aide -- was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to the teacher recruitment scam. He has been accused of having a role in allegedly illegal appointments of schoolteachers and staff in government-run schools when he was Education Minister.
The arrest came after Rs 20 crore was recovered from his aide Arpita Mukherjee, who has also been arrested. Videos of the raid showed heaps of bank notes, apparently on the floor of Arpita Mukherjee's house.
The minister, who was moved to Bhubaneswar AIIMS from Kolkata's SSKM hospital this morning, has been sent to the agency's custody for two days. Arpita Mukherjee has got a two-day remand with the agency for questioning.
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