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Journalism of Courage
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raids at 12 premises linked to West Bengal Food and Supplies Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Rathin Ghosh in connection with an alleged scam in the recruitment for some municipalities in the state. The central probe agency carried out searches in different locations in North 24 Parganas and Kolkata.
The ED probe follows the Calcutta High Court’s directions to dig into allegations of a scam in recruitment in various municipalities which, according to reports, were allegedly done flouting norms and in exchange of money. The TMC leaders who were chairmen of these municipalities between 2014 and 2019, when the alleged scam took place, are being probed.
There are allegations that Ghosh, who was the chairman of the Madhyamgram Municipality at the time, had facilitated recruitment to various posts in exchange of money. The ED is trying to track the money trail.
The ED’s raids came two days after a slew of TMC leaders and activists held protests in Delhi against the BJP-led central government, demanding the release of the Centre’s social welfare schemes-related funds to the state.
Ghosh is a three-time TMC MLA, having won the Madhyamgram seat in North 24 Parganas district consecutively in 2011, 2016 and 2021.
A former Congress leader, Ghosh left the grand old party to join the TMC when Mamata Banerjee launched it in 1998. That same year, he won the Madhyamgram Municipality election against the Left Front and went on to become the TMC’s first chairman in the district. He also led the TMC to its first Municipal Board in the district at the same time.
In 2004, the TMC lost the civic board, although Ghosh retained his councillor seat on the back of his development works, for which he remains popular across Madhyamgram. He has been a councillor four times, thrice going on to become the municipality chairman as well.
The party made him its candidate in the Madhyamgram seat in the 2011 Assembly polls because of his local support base and leadership qualities, although he was not given a place in Mamata’s first Cabinet. For that, he had to wait till 2021.
After the TMC returned to power for the consecutive third time in 2021,
Mamata inducted Ghosh into her Cabinet and allotted him the Food and Supplies portfolio. So far, there was no major controversy linked to Ghosh or his political activities.
