A day after walking free from jail after more than three years, former West Bengal education minister and suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Partha Chatterjee has broken his silence — declaring that his “loyalty” was to blame for the downfall that led him behind bars in the state’s multi-crore teachers’ recruitment scam.
Replying questions on Wednesday, Chatterjee, who was arrested in July 2022 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said pointedly: “My loyalty is responsible for the fate that I have met.”
The cryptic remark has sent ripples through the ruling TMC and opposition circles alike, sparking speculation about whom Chatterjee was referring to and whether he intended to hint at higher-level complicity behind the scam.
Soon after his release on bail, the five-time MLA from Behala (West) launched an outreach initiative called “Duare Bidhayaak” (MLA at Your Doorstep) — part of his effort to reconnect with his constituency after years of political and legal isolation.
In an open letter addressed to the people of Behala, Chatterjee wrote, “Who did I take money from in exchange for giving a job? If anyone has taken money in my name, please put it in my Janobaksho (Box for the Masses) with evidence. I will take action.”
The initiative, he said, is meant to collect public complaints and rebuild his image, which he claims was “destroyed by false accusations.”
Chatterjee has urged the residents of his constituency to help “save his honesty from being tarnished,” asserting, “No one has questioned my honesty in my long political career or my life in the council. Those who tried to destroy my image have committed a social crime.”
When questioned about his alleged links with Arpita Mukherjee, from whose residences the ED recovered crores in cash during simultaneous raids, Chatterjee said, “Many people have two wives. Can’t I have one girlfriend?”
Chatterjee, who once held key portfolios including Education and Industry, was a heavyweight within the TMC until his suspension in 2022 following his arrest. In his another letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and copies sent to party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and president Subrata Bakshi, Chatterjee sought clarification on “under what party rule” he was suspended.
While asserting that he still considers himself under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, he admitted he now seeks “answers.”
Having been away from active politics for three years, three months, and 19 days, Chatterjee now faces an uncertain political future. With Assembly elections due next year and little chance of regaining a TMC ticket, political observers speculate that he may either contest as an independent candidate or align with another party.
Upon his return, Chatterjee said he wishes to attend the winter session of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly as an independent MLA, declaring: “I am responsible to the people of Behala West. Those who have trusted me and made me win five times, I will go to them and seek justice.”
Chatterjee, once a central figure in Bengal’s ruling party and a loyal lieutenant to Mamata Banerjee, now stands at a crossroads — fighting to reclaim both his political identity and his public image amid one of the state’s most sensational corruption scandals.
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