Must be punished if found guilty: Mamata
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she does not support any corruption or wrongdoing, and if anyone found guilty then that person should be punished. The Trinamool Congress chief’s statement comes after her cabinet colleague Partha Chatterjee’s arrest in the school recruitment case.
“I don’t mind if someone is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. Don’t drag my name. I don’t even take salary from government,” the Bengal chief minister said.
Addressing an award function of the state government here, Banerjee slammed the opposition for a “malicious campaign” launched against her, asserting that she does not support corruption. “We have full faith in the judiciary. There has to be a time frame within which the truth and the court’s verdict must be out. If anyone is proven guilty, then he or she must be punished. The party, too, will take action. But, I condemn the malicious campaign against me,” she said.
Referring to the video shared by the BJP, in which she was seen interacting with Arpita Mukherjee from whose house Rs 22 crore in cash was found, the chief minister said the Trinamool Congress has no links with her.”The party has no relation with that lady, neither do I know her. I attend several programmes, if someone gets clicked with me, is it my fault?” she said.
Hitting out at the BJP, Banerjee said that if the party thinks that it can break the Trinamool Congress by using central probe agencies then it is wrong.
“It has to be seen whether it (the investigation) is a trap to malign my party and me. I neither support corruption nor allow it to breed,” she said.
Chatterjee, who was the state education minister when the alleged scam took place, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday after being questioned for more than 26 hours. The court on Sunday directed the probe agency to take the minister to AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Monday by an air ambulance.
The doctors in Bhubaneswar said that Chatterjee suffers from chronic diseases but does not need immediate hospitalisation.
“We have conducted a thorough screening (of Chatterjee). He has some chronic diseases, but does not need immediate hospitalisation,” AIIMS executive director Ashutosh Biswas said.