Mamata Banerjee has a reputation for being fiercely protective of those who matter to her. When the CBI arrested her political mentor Subrata Mukherjee and close associates Firhad Hakim and Madan Mitra on May 17, the West Bengal chief minister went straightway to the Nizam Palace, the agency’s eastern region headquarters in Kolkata. And when Banerjee goes somewhere, people follow. Hundreds of men marched with her to the CBI office.
For Mukherjee, 75, who played a crucial role in bringing Banerjee to politics, it was the darkest day in his political career. He was arrested for taking a bribe during a sting operation carried out by Mathew Samuel of Narada News in 2016. It was probably the only blip in Mukherjee’s otherwise clean career. He was only 27 when chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray had entrusted him with seven departments. Today he is a key driver for rural growth in the Banerjee government. The CBI said he was “seen to have accepted the illegal gratification of ₹5 lakh”.
Transport minister Hakim, who is also the administrator of Kolkata Corporation, plays a key role in the government’s drive against the Covid-19 pandemic in the city. He was not seen taking money in the sting video. The CBI said he was “seen to have agreed for acceptance of bribe money of ₹5 lakh”.
Former transport minister Mitra was earlier arrested by the CBI in Saradha Chit Fund scam case and was in jail for almost two years. The CBI said he was “seen to have accepted the illegal gratification of ₹5 lakh”.
Denne historien er fra May 30, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 30, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
