After his removal from the post of the TMC's West Bengal general secretary, Kunal Ghosh revealed that the Trinamool was aware of the school recruitment scam even before the 2021 assembly polls.
The damaging statement from Kunal Ghosh, considered close to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, came amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, as the SSC scam has escalated into a significant issue in the polls.
Mr Ghosh was removed from the post hours after he shared a stage with a BJP Lok Sabha candidate and praised him on Wednesday.
"The party was well aware of the fact that large-scale corruption and extortion in lieu of jobs was taking place in the school education department. The party was aware of it even before the 2021 assembly polls," he said in an interview with Bengali news channel ABP Ananda.
Kunal Ghosh, who has been seeking more prominence for next-generation leaders and has been at loggerheads with the old guards in the TMC, said it was due to this "information about large-scale corruption that Partha Chatterjee was shifted to the industry department from the education ministry after the party returned to power for the third consecutive term in 2021.
Mr Ghosh's remarks came a week after the Calcutta High Court declared the recruitment process of the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools as "null and void," ordering the cancellation of all appointments made through it.
Around 26,000 people have lost jobs following the court order. The TMC leadership had maintained that the party was not aware of the scam until the arrest of Chatterjee took place in 2022.
TMC leader Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in July 2022 for his alleged involvement in the SSC scam. Chatterjee was shown the door by the party following his arrest. He was also removed from the state cabinet.
Several TMC leaders and TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha were arrested by the CBI for their alleged involvement in the scam.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Russia-Ukraine War: 1,000 Days On | India Global Special Broadcast | NDTV World
Trinamool Lawmaker Manik Bhattacharya Gets Bail In Bengal School Jobs Scam In Bengal School Job Scam, Probe Body Finds How Funds Were Diverted: Report BJP Launches Portal To Help "Genuine" Candidates Hit By Bengal School Jobs Scam Russia's Firing Of ICBM On Ukraine Is Weapon's 1st Combat Use In History Amazon Employee Greets Friend At Wedding, Dies Of Cardiac Arrest This Asian City Is Emerging As Sex Tourism Hub. It's Not Where You Think UN Calls Use Of New Russian Missile In Ukraine "Worrying" All Countries Reject Climate Finance Draft Leaving COP29 In Crisis Delhi Tops Polluted City List As Air Quality Crisis Persists In North India Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.