"Why should I resign...", says arrested Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee

Kolkata: Senior Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a school jobs scam, on Wednesday countered repeated queries by the media on whether he would resign by retorting why he should do so.

He was approached by reporters outside the ESI hospital at Joka in the city where he was taken on Wednesday morning along with his associate Arpita Mukherjee for a medical check-up before being interrogated by the ED, which is probing an alleged money trail in the scam that has rocked the state.

Chatterjee was taken to the central government-run medical facility amidst tight security and whisked away about two hours later to the ED office at the CGO complex in Salt Lake area.

To repeated questions by reporters on whether he is considering resigning from the post of a minister, a visibly irritated Chatterjee shot back "What is the reason (to tender the resignation)?" ED sleuths are conducting raids at different locations reportedly owned by the arrested minister's close associate Arpita Mukherjee on Wednesday in connection with the ongoing probe, an official in the central agency said.

Raids are underway at a few places including at Rajdanga and Belghoria where three properties belonging to Arpita was found, he added.

"We have found a couple of flats belonging to Arpita at Belghoria (in the northern part of the city) and another one at Rajdanga (in the southern part) where she has an office. Our officers are conducting searches there," he said.

ED officials are trying to open the main door of one of her two flats in Belghoria, keys to which could not be found, the official added.

Asked about the questioning of the minister and his associate, the official said that though Mukherjee has been "cooperative throughout", the former Bengal education minister was "non-cooperative".

Chatterjee is now the parliamentary affairs minister.

"We are finding grilling Mr Chatterjee quite difficult. He has been very stubborn and non-cooperative with our officers. He is not replying to our questions," the official said. Chatterjee was discharged from the hospital after about two hours of medical tests and was taken back to the ED office at the CGO complex in Salt Lake.

He is likely to be questioned along with Arpita and Manik Bhattacharya, the TMC MLA and former president of West Bengal Board of Primary Education, the official said. The ED had arrested Chatterjee, who is also TMC secretary general, on Saturday in connection with its investigation into the irregularities in the recruitment of teachers by the School Service Commission.