SSC row: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee attacks BJP for misusing central agencies, says 'law will take its own course'

Jhargram: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (May 19) slammed the BJP-led Central government for 'misusing' federal agencies for settling political scores amid a row over irregularities in SSC appointments. "The BJP is running a 'Tughlaqi' regime (referring to 14th-century Muslim ruler of Delhi Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq) in the country and is trying to divide the nation. They are controlling central agencies and using those to settle political scores," PTI report quoted her as saying.

Addressing a public meeting at Jhargram, Mamata said, "A lot of things are being said about discrepancies in recruitment. If someone has committed any wrong, then law will take its own course. But, this vilification campaign should stop. During the Left regime, jobs were given by writing down names on pieces of paper. I will reveal the irregularities soon."

The West Bengal Chief Minister also claimed that there were many discrepancies in government recruitment during the erstwhile Left Front regime in the state, details of which she would 'reveal soon'. 

On Wednesday, West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee was reportedly quizzed for over three hours by the CBI in connection with the irregularities in government school appointments, which has snowballed into a major controversy in the state.

Partha Chatterjee appeared before CBI sleuths in the wake of an order by Calcutta High Court, which termed as "public scam" the irregularities made in the recruitment process. 

Jhargram free of Maoists, recent posters handiwork of some to create panic: Mamata 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asserted that Jhargram district was free of Maoists, and that some people were trying to create panic in the area by putting up handwritten posters with mention of the ultras. Posters with names of Maoists had recently surfaced at several places in 'Jangalmahal', where left-wing extremists were once active. 

"Some people have been putting up hand-written posters and claiming that it was done by Maoists," Banerjee said at an administrative review meeting here., adding "It is an attempt to create panic by posting pictures of these posters on social media. Keep an eye on the internet because there are good as well as bad people in it."

The chief minister said she has herself examined the authenticity of the posters and found that there was no truth in the stickers, adding "There has been a continuous campaign and I think it must be investigated." 

Jhargram Superintendent of Police Arijit Sinha told PTI that eight people have been arrested in connection with the incident and an investigation is underway. 

Mamata Banerjee also asked Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi to talk to his Jharkhand counterpart and work out a strategy to protect the interstate borders. 

Notably, Jhargram borders Jharkhand, and there has been a reported rise in the number of criminals entering Bengal from that state. 

(With Agency Inputs)