'Shiksha' has turned into 'Ashiksha' in Bengal: Dharmendra Pradhan

KOLKATA: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday hit out at the TMC government in West Bengal saying 'shiksha' (education) has turned into 'ashiksha' (lack of education) in the state due to malpractices by its leaders and ministers. He accused Trinamool Congress of letting loose a regime of 'tolabaji' and 'cut money' (extortion and commission) in the education sector of the state.

Pointing to the arrests made in connection with teaching and non-teaching staff recruitment scam, he said the central investigation agencies will unearth the entire scandal and take the guilty to the task. Pradhan was referring to the arrests of former state minister Partha Chatterjee and several officers of the state recruitment panel and education board in connection with the scam in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in government and government-sponsored schools.

Also Read | Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw test 'BharOS' developed by IIT Madras

The scam is being probed by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate. "More big names will come under CBI's lens in the coming days as investigation by the central agencies progresses ... Now middlemen in job recruitment scams are being caught. Wait for central agencies to find the big names involved in it. That will happen in due course of time," he told reporters at the sidelines of a religious programme here.

Pradhan had his lunch at a party worker's residence in the city. Keeping up his attack, the union minister said "TMC's greatest crime is recruitment ghotala (scandal), midday meal ghotala, raising money through tolabazi and cut money ... It is indeed a sad commentary on the situation in Bengal, which used to be known as the soil of Goddess Saraswati".

Also Read | Important events, people not part of current Indian history books being included: Education Minister

Reacting to Pradhan's statement, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the union minister should say what he thought about ED raids in several places in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh in connection with education sector irregularities. "If there are a few cases of irregularities in the TMC government, the party wants the truth to come out. The government is taking action against offenders and we are cooperating with the investigating agencies. But what is Pradhan's party (BJP) doing in states where it is in power?" he said.

The human resource capital of students and teachers of Bengal is known across the country and even globally. "This continues till this date. Why is Dharmendra Pradhan finding it difficult to acknowledge that?" he asked.