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Bengal govt to probe corruption charges against former minister who joined BJP
Rajib Banerjee joined the BJP on January 30, a day after he quit the TMC and resigned as an MLA of the ruling party. Earlier in January, he had resigned as the forest minister.
The Mamata Banerjee-led administration is probing corruption charges against former Bengal minister and ex-Trinamool Congress leader Rajib Banerjee, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The man, who was with us but has now left, had done some anomalies in the recruitment process of Bon Sahayaks. He committed theft and then shifted to the BJP,” she alleged, without naming anyone.
The TMC chief was speaking at a convention of party workers cum public rally at Alipurduar in north Bengal on Wednesday.
“I have received complaints from many people. We are investigating the matter. The investigation will continue even if elections are likely to be announced in the next three to four days,” she said.
Rajib Banerjee joined the BJP on January 30, a day after he quit the TMC and resigned as an MLA of the ruling party. Earlier in January, he had resigned as the forest minister.
Even though Rajib Banerjee could not be contacted, the BJP hit back saying that if the chief minister knew that the forest minister was corrupt why did she send her emissaries to stop him from joining the BJP?
“Rajib was a blue-eyed boy for the TMC when he was with them. We know Rajib and he comes from a good family. If the chief minister knew that Rajib was corrupt why did she send TMC MP Saugata Roy and state minister Partha Chatterjee to retain him in the party? Why did her police not take any action? People understand everything. Those leaders, who are not being able to stay with the TMC with respect and are deserting the party, are being branded as corrupt,” said Jai Prakash Majumdar, BJP’s state vice president.
Mamata attacked the BJP saying that the party is a washing machine where corrupt people join to come out clean.
“All the thieves, goons and dacoits are joining the BJP and the party says that they will defeat the TMC. You can never defeat the TMC,” she alleged.
Rajib Banerjee said at a public rally later in the day: “Today she brought charges of corruption against me. I had handed over the recruitment process to the board. On October 8, I informed the chief minister that a TMC leader from Birbhum had demanded that all the posts should be handed over to him so that he could make appointments. She, however, said that the jobs of Bon Sahayaks should be distributed among TMC leaders and workers in the districts. I have documents to prove that recommendations had come from various leaders including those from Kalighat (chief minister’s residence).”
He also said that the chief minister should investigate all contractual jobs till date.
