Kolkata: Former West Bengal minister Partha Chaterjee said on Monday that he will send a plea to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking a level-playing field in the trial on his alleged involvement in the multi-crore school recruitment case.
“I want a level-playing field in the trial process for which I will make an appeal to the Chief Minister. I still maintain that I was with the party (Trinamool Congress), I am with the party, and I will continue to be with the party in the coming days as well,” Chatterjee said while coming out of a special court where he was presented for hearing.
Although the former Trinamool General Secretary did not specify what he meant by a ‘level- playing field’, political observers feel that his statement was an indirect way to express his grievance over the non-availability of legal back-up from the party which some other Trinamool leaders currently behind bars on various charges are receiving.
Chatterjee also claimed that the money recovered from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, who’s also serving judicial custody in the same case, did not belong to him.
“The probe should be against the person from whose residence the money was recovered. I am innocent. I was neither an appointing authority, nor did I recommend any appointment. I was not associated with any wrongdoing,” Chatterjee said before leaving the court premises.
Earlier on Monday, while entering the court, Chatterjee had claimed that he is being kept behind the bars in the name of investigation and interrogation ‘unnecessarily’.
He also slammed a human rights activist spearheading a movement of demanding release of under-trial political prisoners for remaining silent in his case.
(IANS)
