West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee during a Trinamool Congress meeting in Kolkata on Dec 12, 2015
West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee with Chief Minister Mamata BanerjeeIANS

The government of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal is known for courting controversies – some of them even crossing all comical limits. The state's education minister, Partha Chatterjee, found himself at the receiving end of another such controversy which left many amused than angry.

Speaking at the annual conference of Bengal's government college teachers in Kolkata on Sunday (February 5), Chatterjee said his government is ready to give employment to all those who have lost their jobs in the United States after Donald Trump took over as the president last month. In his speech, Chatterjee said to those who are from the state finding it difficult to stay back in the US: "We will see how you can be given professional accommodation," Bengali daily Ei Samay quoted the minister as saying.

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Also taking a dig at Trump, Chatterjee said the Americans made use of the best talents from across the world and now are saying all sorts of things. "But they cannot stop Bengal's talent through such policies," he said.

'Forget US, people are leaving Bengal for other states'

The Opposition ridiculed Chatterjee for his remark, while those related to the information technology sector felt what he said has no serious implication. The experts said the US is a far-off story; people are leaving the state for work even to other states in the country. CM Banerjee had also slammed Trump over his administration's restrictive policy a few days ago. With one of his ministers also taking the same route now, the social media is abuzz with jokes about the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership's growing dissatisfaction with the Trump Administration, the daily added.

However, this is not the first time that the TMC leadership has made an American president relevant in the state. Last year, when Banerjee was at loggerheads with the Election Commission over holding free and fair elections in the state, she had mocked the commission advising it to bring in troops of Barack Obama (the previous American president) to ensure that the polls are held fairly.