Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee can do no wrong as she is like a god, West Bengal minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said on Sunday, asserting that even priests sometimes turn out to be thieves, but not gods.
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Chattopadhyay's comments, which triggered a controversy, came as the TMC battles allegations of irregularities in school recruitment with several of its top-rung leaders, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee, arrested.
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"Mamata Banerjee is like a god who we worship. Even the priests worshipping the god can at times be a thief but not the god, the idol he worships," he said, addressing a public meeting at Khardah in North 24 Parganas district.
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"Even I can be a thief, but not Mamata Banerjee," he added.
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Chattopadhyay, the agriculture minister, alleged that several irregularities happened in educational institutes during the CPI(M)'s rule but those were never investigated.
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A person was appointed registrar of a university during the Left Front government, even though he did not have 50 per cent marks in graduation and post-graduation, he alleged, claiming that undeserving candidates were also appointed professors in various state-run varsities.
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But these things were overlooked, the minister said.
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CPI(M) MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said the court has already dismissed the allegations being made by Chattopadhyay.
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"Now, people will punish them for their sins. They have lost ground among the people, so they are making such statements," he told PTI.
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Reacting to Chattopadhyay's comment about the chief minister, the BJP said that TMC leaders were making such statements in desperation.
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"TMC will bite the dust in both panchayat and Lok Sabha elections if the polling is free and fair," BJP leader Rahul Sinha said.