Senior advocate and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya on Wednesday moved the Calcutta High Court and sought contempt proceedings against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for his comments at a public event. Demanded action, in which he asked the judiciary. Not to terminate the jobs obtained through recruitment scam by using illegal means.
Before a division bench of Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmoy Bhattacharya, Mr. Bhattacharya said that self motivation Contempt proceedings be initiated against Ms. Banerjee. The bench asked Mr. Bhattacharya to file an affidavit in the matter before the court by Thursday, after which the court would decide whether the contempt petition would be allowed or not.
According to the advocate, the remarks made by the Chief Minister amount to direct interference in the process of administration of justice. “The matter is still going through the judicial process. Such remarks by the Chief Minister at a public event are therefore unwarranted and tantamount to contempt of court,” Mr. Bhattacharya said.
Participating in an event organized by the Alipore Bar Association, the chief minister on Tuesday said: “Please don’t take jobs at the drop of a hat. This is not politics. Ms Banerjee urged that the jobs which were terminated in the recruitment scam should be given back legally. “If required, they can appear in the exam again. Or the court can make some arrangements,” she said. Her comments were criticized by her political opponents, who alleged that she was trying to encourage “illegality and corruption” with such comments.
Over 4,000 people have lost their jobs after irregularities in their appointment process were unearthed during the ongoing probe into the West Bengal recruitment scam. Some of those who lost their jobs have appealed before a division bench of the High Court. The recruitment scam in which dozens of officials, including Trinamool Congress functionaries, are behind bars has rocked the politics of the state.