Partha steps down as the president of IISWBM 8 months after his arrest

Almost eight months after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with his alleged involvement in a multi-crore teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal, former Minister of State for Education and former Trinamool Congress General Secretary Partha Chatterjee has finally resigned as Chairman of the Institute of Principal Management in Calcutta.

During his tenure as Minister of State for Education from 2014 to 2021, Chatterjee ex officio became the President of the Board of Trustees of the Indian Institute of Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), a premier institute of autonomous management under the academic jurisdiction of the University of Calcutta.

He continued to occupy the seat even after it was shifted from the state education department to the state of commerce and industry after the 2021 state assembly elections. Even after his arrest by the ED in July last year in connection with the teacher recruitment scam, despite being removed from ministerial and party portfolios, Chatterjee continued to serve as IISWBM president.

Since his arrest, sources said there has been immense internal pressure on the institute's governing body to replace Chatterjee as chairman of the board. Chatterjee, who is serving his judicial custody at the President's Special Correctional Institution in South Kolkata, has been sent messages to voluntarily resign the seat.

Chatterjee finally resigned from the seat this week. His resignation was accepted by the current board of governors on Friday.

Chatterjee is an alumnus of this premier management institute. From there he completed his MBA in Human Resource Management as a specialization after completing his studies in Economics at Asutosh College.