Partha Chatterjee (born 6 October 1952) is an Indian politician. He earlier served as the Minister of Commerce and Industries and formerly served as the Education Minister of Government of West Bengal.[3] He represented the Trinamool Congress. He also held the political office of Secretary General of the TMC. In 2022, he was suspended indefinitely from the party following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
Partha Chatterjee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cabinet Minister, Government of West Bengal | |
| In office 10 May 2021 – 28 July 2022 | |
| Governor | M.K. Narayanan Jagdeep Dhankhar |
| Chief Minister | Mamata Banerjee |
| Ministry and Departments | |
| Preceded by | Nirupam Sen Amit Mitra Sailen Sarkar Dr. Debesh Das |
| In office 20 May 2011 – 20 December 2012 | |
| In office 20 May 2014 – 10 May 2021 | |
| Governor | M.K. Narayanan D. Y. Patil (additional charge) Keshari Nath Tripathi Jagdeep Dhankhar |
| Chief Minister | Mamata Banerjee |
| Ministry and Departments | Ministry of School Education |
| Preceded by | Bratya Basu |
| Succeeded by | Bratya Basu |
| Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Nirmal Mukherjee |
| Constituency | Behala Paschim |
| Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal | |
| In office 21 September 2006 – 13 May 2011 | |
| Deputy | Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury |
| Preceded by | Pankaj Kumar Banerjee |
| Succeeded by | Dr Surjya Kanta Mishra |
| Constituency | Behala Paschim |
| Secretary-General of Trinamool Congress | |
| In office 1998–2022 | |
| Editor of Jago Bangla | |
| In office 2015–2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 October 1952 Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Political party | Independent (2022–present) Trinamool Congress (1998–2022) Indian National Congress (Until 1998) |
| Spouse | Late Babli (Jayasree) Chatterjee[1] |
| Children | Sohini Chatterjee[2] |
| Residence | Kolkata |
| Alma mater | University of Calcutta (BA) IISWBM (MBA) Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur |
Early life
editChatterjee was born in Calcutta. He attended Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur[4] though some former students of the Mission claimed that he was only there for a year, after which he was given a transfer certificate.[5]
He studied economics from Asutosh College and completed his MBA from IISWBM.[6]
Political career
editChatterjee worked as an HR professional with Andrew Yule.[7]
He was elected as an MLA from Behala Paschim in 2001, and subsequently re-elected from the same constituency in 2006. In 2011 he won by a margin of 59,021 votes.[8][9] He was Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011.[10]
In the 2016 and 2021 West Bengal assembly elections he was re-elected from the same constituency.
He was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on 20 May 2011 and allotted the portfolios of Commerce and Industry, Public Enterprises, Information Technology and Electronics and Parliamentary affairs.[11]
He was nominated as deputy leader of the house in 2011.[12] After the Assembly election 2016, he became the Minister-in-Charge of Higher Education and School Education Department, West Bengal Government[13][14] and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Public Enterprises, Information Technology and Electronics replaced by Amit Mitra.
Controversy
editOn 23 July 2022, Chatterjee was arrested from his residence by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged State School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam cases along with his aide actress Arpita Mukherjee. He was admitted to SSKM Hospital after complaining of chest pains.[15] Later, he was shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar where doctors said that he suffers from chronic diseases but does not need immediate hospitalization. He is currently in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate.[16] As of 28 July 2022, the Enforcement Directorate has recovered ₹498 million(US$ 5.96 million) cash, gold worth ₹70 crore(US$ 8.3 million), ₹5.6 crore(US$ 670K) worth foreign currency and coded diaries from properties related to him and Arpita Mukherjee.[17]
On 28 July 2022, he was removed as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Information Technology and Electronics and Parliamentary Affairs[18][19] and suspended from the Trinamool Congress.[20] On 5 August 2022, he and his aide Arpita Mukherjee were sent to jail custody.[21] He is still under trial, but the people of his state proclaim him as a thief as they use the slogans "পার্থ চোর " (Partha is a thief). [22]
References
edit- ^ "TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee's wife dead". Press Trust of India. Kolkata. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Press Trust of India (5 April 2016). "Chip off the old block: Candidates turn to their sons, daughters for help during election campaigns". Firstpost. Kolkata. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Nag, Jayatri. "WB Trinamool Minister Partha Chatterjee has been summoned by CBI again". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Partha focus on poor show in tech tests". The Telegraph. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015.
- ^ "Outraged by SSC Scam Case, Former Students of Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission 'Disown' Partha". Network18 Group.
- ^ Chatterjee, Tanmay (26 July 2022). "The 'rise and fall' of Partha Chatterjee, Mamata Banerjee's trusted loyalist". Hindustan Times.
- ^ "Bengal opposes Andrew Yule's shut down of Calcutta electrical division". www.telegraphindia.com. The Telegraph. 20 July 2021.
- ^ "113 - Behala West Assembly Constituency". Partywise Comparison Since 1977. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Behala Paschim". Assembly Elections May 2011 Results. Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Team Mamata". The Telegraph 9 April 2011. Calcutta, India. 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "The Ministry". The Telegraph, 21 May 2011. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
- ^ Ganguly, Arnab (16 May 2011). "Mamata issues model code Dos and don'ts for Trinamul ranks". The Telegraph 16 May 2011. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "West Bengal education minister calls teachers 'cows'". The New Indian Express. 7 February 2017. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "List of Ministers in Mamata's cabinet". thehindu.com. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Bengal SSC scam case LIVE Updates: Arrested Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee admitted to state-run SSKM Hospital". India Today. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "ED Gets 10 Days' Custody of Arrested WB Minister Partha Chatterjee, Associate". The Wire. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "Rs 49.8 Crore Cash, Rs 5 Crore Gold and Coded Diaries: The Bengal Scam Haul So Far. And Counting?". News18. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Singh, Shiv Sahay (28 July 2022). "Partha Chatterjee is out of Bengal Cabinet". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Bengal SSC Scam LIVE Updates: Partha Chatterjee Sacked as Minister Over Graft Charges, May be Removed as TMC Gen Secy Too". News18. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Livemint (28 July 2022). "Arrested leader Partha Chatterjee suspended from TMC, removed from all posts". mint. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ PTI (5 August 2022). "Partha Chatterjee, close Girlfriend Arpita sent to jail till 18 August in Bengal School Service scam". ThePrint. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "'Chor, chor': Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee 'greeted' at AIIMS Bhubaneswar". India Today. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2023.