The West Bengal government on July 28 sacked minister Partha Chatterjee.
Stung by recent raids on her former minister and close confidante Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today announced that there will be a cabinet reshuffle in the state on Wednesday, featuring four to five new faces.
"We lost ministers Subrata Mukherjee, Sadhan Pande. Partha is in jail so all their work has to be done. Not possible for me to handle alone," she said.
Ms Banerjee said they don't plan to dissolve the entire cabinet and form a new one. She said the number of districts in the state have increased -- from 23 to 30 -- and many of them are writing to her "a lot".
"Earlier there were 23 districts in Bengal now it has been increased to 30. The 7 new districts include - Sunderban, Ichhemati, Ranaghat, Bishnupur, Jangipur, Behrampur and one more district will be named in Basirhat. Many of them are writing a lot," she said.
The West Bengal government on July 28 sacked Partha Chatterjee from his ministerial role after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a school jobs scam.
However, days after heaps of cash and kilos of gold were seized from his aide Arpita Mukherjee's homes in Kolkata, he claimed the money did not belong to him. He said it was a conspiracy to frame him.
The Mamata Banerjee government has come under severe criticism after the probe agency's raid unearthed piles of cash from multiple properties owned by Mr Chaterjee's 30-year-old aide.