West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Announces Cabinet Reshuffle for Wednesday
Mamata Banerjee also announced that the number of districts in the state will be increased from 23 to 30.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
(Photo: Altered by The Quint)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday, 1 August, announced that there will be a Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday and there will be four to five new faces.
Speaking about the reshuffle, Banerjee said, "We don't have plan to dissolve the whole ministry and form a new one. Yes, there will be a reshuffle. We lost ministers Subrata Mukherjee, Sadhan Pande. Partha is in jail so all their work has to be done. Not possible for me to handle alone."
This comes days after Partha Chatterjee, accused in West Bengal SSC recruitment scam, was suspended from the Trinamool Congress and sacked from the Mamata Banerjee Cabinet on 28 July.
Reacting to the announcement, Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar claimed that it was "just an eyewash."
"With the corruption cases that have come to light, people of Bengal have understood that it's a government of thieves and thieves are sitting in the Cabinet. Such a decision is being taken to divert attention," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 23 July in connection with the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers, clerks, and staff in state-run schools.
West Bengal To Get 7 New Districts: Mamata
Chief Minister Banerjee also announced that the number of districts in the state will be increased to 30.
She said, "Earlier there were 23 districts in Bengal, now it has been increased to 30. The seven new districts include Sunderban, Ichhamati, Ranaghat, Bishnupur, Jangipur, Behrampur, and one more district will be named in Basirhat."
What Is the Alleged SSC Scam?
The alleged scam occurred when Chatterjee was in charge of state education.
It involved alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Group C and D staff as well as teachers in government-sponsored and aided schools on recommendations of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).
It was also alleged that the ranks of students in the exam were changed.
A petitioner named Babita Sarkar had also filed a case against Ankita Adhikari, the daughter of West Bengal Minister of State (MoS) for Education Paresh Adhikari, claiming that Ankita's name was on the merit list despite there being more deserving candidates.
For the teacher's recruitment, Sarkar was ranked 20th in the merit list, but her rank was later changed to 21st when Adhikari was featured on the list.
(With inputs from ANI)
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