If found guilty, he must be punished: Mamata after minister's arrest in jobs scam

Kolkata: If anyone is found guilty of wrongdoing, he must be punished, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, days after her cabinet colleague Partha Chatterjee was arrested in the SCC scam by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

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, the West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister, was arrested by the ED on Saturday in connection with its investigation into the irregularities in the recruitment drives by the School Service Commission (SSC), which allegedly happened when he was the state's education minister.

Mukherjee, claimed to be his close aide, was also arrested by the agency after the huge amount of cash was found at her south Kolkata apartment.