Mamata action in sacking Partha a bold move

Bhubaneswar, July 29:A recent Delhi High Court observation on a plea to dismiss Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain from the Cabinet can well be described as a ‘watershed observation’. The High Court on the plea said that it cannot direct a Chief Minister to remove or induct any Minister. But any Chief Minister has the moral responsibility to be accountable to the people who have elected the party. Indirectly, the Court observed that lingering a corrupt minister, who has been arrested by an agency like CBI, ED or Income Tax, should not have any place in any council of Ministers.

While, in Delhi the observation does not appear to have any impact, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal acted swiftly. Mamata, though in dilemma, finally shunted his ‘corrupt’ minister Partha Chatterjee following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate and recovery of nearly Rs 51 crore cash and gold worth over Rs 4 crore from Chatterjee’s associate. Though the action of Mamata is seen as a move to assure the people of the State that she is no mood to encourage corruption in any form, analysts feel that Mamata Banerjee is more concerned about maintaining the Trinamool Congress Party’s image. Resentment has brewed in the party following the arrest of Partha Chatterjee and she needed to contain it at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gaining ground in the State.

However, in Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is yet to take a decision on Satyendra Jain. This does not augur well for Kejriwal or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which came to power on the plank of fighting corruption after the Anna Hazare movement. The compulsions of Kejriwal is best known to him but it cannot be ruled out that the West Bengal Chief Minister was not confronted by such compulsions. But she chose to take the harshest step against Partha Chatterjee despite his being the number three—after Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee–in the party and perhaps the most influential leader in the party. It is another thing as to why Partha Chatterjee indulged in corrupt practices, whether the proceeds of crime were shared for party’s strengthening or any other reasons. Those things will be known in due course only.

It can be said here conviction that Didi in West Bengal is certainly more worried about her party and its image. She could ill afford to let the party get embroiled in corruption allegations. She could well be worried about the ‘Black Dairy’ recovered from the close associate of Partha Chatterjee—Arpital Mukherjee which is said to be containing the names of partners in crime.

The developments in the past one year in Maharashtra and Kerala cannot be overlooked. Then Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey hesitated to sack his Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and later another minister Nawab Mallik. Both the Ministers were involved in corrupt practices and arrested by the ED. But the delay of on the part of Thackrey to sack these ministers ultimate cost him his chair as resentment grew in Shiv Sena and the party split vertically.

In Kerala the Chief Minister and one of his close associate have been alleged to be involved in corruption.