Outraged by SSC Scam Case, Former Students of Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission ‘Disown’ Partha
The arrest of West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee by the Enforcement Directorate and the unearthing of mountains of cash and valuables from properties allegedly linked to him have embarrassed a section of former students of the Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission in South 24 Parganas district.
Chatterjee has often said that he is an alumnus of the institution and studied there for six years.
Some former students of the Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission told News18 that this was false and that the suspended Trinamool Congress leader was only there for a year, after which he was given a transfer certificate.
Debdut Ghosh Thakur, a former journalist and Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission student, said, “He is not an ex-student like that. I remember once he claimed during a programme on stage that he had studied in Narendrapur. After he came down from the stage, I told him to tell truth, that he is not really an ex-student of Narendrapur. We have heard that he took a TC and studied there not more than one year.”
WhatsApp groups of former students of Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission have for the past week been flooded with messages expressing outrage over Chatterjee’s claim.
Members of the alumni, in India and abroad, are angry and embarrassed that the institution’s name is appearing in connection with the so-called SSC scam because of the sacked minister.
Another former student told News18, “Generally Narendrapur does not give TCs, but in his case, we have heard, one was given. It seems that the authorities understood his true nature. There are two other instances of TCs being given in Narendrapur, and both those people are also infamous, for several reasons.
Since Partha Chatterjee was the state education minister, his claim was not disputed apart from on one occasion, said sources.
They added that he should not be called an ex-student of Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission. A person can be considered an alumnus of the institution only on studying there till class 10, or in classes 11 and 12, they argued.