Hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recovered cash of more than ₹20 crores and 20 mobile phones from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee heaping praises on the actress has gone viral on social media.
The contentious video dates back to September 28, 2019, and was shot at Naktala Udayan Sangha, the Durga Puja committee of TMC leader Partha Chatterjee. Reportedly, Arpita Mukherjee was the face of the promotional campaign for the event.
“Odishai kaaj koro. Valo more koro. oh, korte? (Arpita has worked in Orissa. Keep up the good work. You have worked in Odisha in the past?),” Mamta Banerjee was heard as saying.
“Odiya bolte paro valo more? Odisha te kaaj more Banglar meya…Agar baar o eschelo akhane… Bobby der okhane o jai (Can you speak Odiya? She is Bengal’s daughter who works in Odisha..She had come earlier too. She also visits Bobby [Firhad Hakim]),” the West Bengal CM remarked.
The archived version of the video can be accessed here. The name of Arpita Mukherjee has cropped up in a scam pertaining to the recruitment of candidates for the West Bengal Primary Education Board and West Bengal School Service Commission.
TMC distances itself from the actress
After the video went viral on social media, TMC distanced itself from the actions of Arpita Mukherjee.
In its defence, party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Trinamool Congress has no links with the money recovered by the ED. It is the responsibility of those individuals, whose names have surfaced in the scam, to answer questions posed to them.”
ইডি যে টাকা উদ্ধার করেছে, তার সঙ্গে তৃণমূলের কোনও সম্পর্ক নেই। এই তদন্তে যাদের নাম আসছে, এসংক্রান্ত প্রশ্নের জবাব দেওয়ার দায়িত্ব তাঁদের বা তাঁদের আইনজীবীদের। কেন দলের নাম জড়িয়ে প্রচার চলছে, দল নজর রাখছে। যথাসময়ে বক্তব্য জানাবে।
— Kunal Ghosh (@KunalGhoshAgain) July 22, 2022
“Why is the name of TMC unnecessarily dragged into the controversy? We are keeping an eye out,” he further added.
BJP to protest against SSC scam in West Bengal
In a tweet on Saturday (July 23), BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya informed that the party will protest against the SSC scam, allegedly engineered by the Trinamool Congress.
Today, BJYM will launch protest across all districts of WB demanding justice for lakhs of young men and women, whose career SSC scam ruined. Jobs were sold for cash, some of which ED recovered from an associate of Mamata Banerjee’s close confidant Partha Chatterjee.@IndranilKhan
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 23, 2022
While tagging BJP leader Indranil Khan, he stated, “Today, BJYM will launch protest across all districts of WB demanding justice for lakhs of young men and women, whose career SSC scam ruined. Jobs were sold for cash, some of which ED recovered from an associate of Mamata Banerjee’s close confidant Partha Chatterjee.”
