The ruling Trinamul on Thursday seemed clearly on the back foot after a series of developments in the courtrooms over alleged fraudulent recruitments of schoolteachers, which gave the Opposition an opportunity to mount fresh attacks on the Mamata Banerjee government.

Paresh Chandra Adhikary, the junior education minister of the state who had apparently gone into hiding, on Thursday evening reached the CBI office in Nizam Palace following a Calcutta High Court order. Adhikairy was being interrogated by the CBI till late on Thursday.

Former education minister Partha Chatterjee, who had to present himself before the CBI on Wednesday, appealed to the Supreme Court seeking relief from coercive action of the CBI.

Opposition parties including the CPM’s student and youth wings, SFI and DYFI respectively on Thursday morning launched a pan-Bengal movement in front of police stations for the immediate arrest of Adhikary. As the junior education minister had not been seen in public since Wednesday afternoon, youth wing members of the CPM had filed several missing diaries too.

“It is a large-scale scam of government jobs. How can Mamata Banerjee tolerate such a scam in which two of her ministers are directly involved? The government needs to issue a White Paper in this regard,” said CPM veteran Sujan Chakraborty.

Sources in both BJP and Left said that they would continue their movement on this issue as it involved the careers of the unemployed educated youths of Bengal.

“We shall intensify our movement as the interest of a large number of educated and unemployed youths is related to it,” said SFI state president Pratikur Rahaman.

The BJP also intensified its attack on the government. BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh courted arrest along with at least 40 SSC aspirants, who have been on protest for the past 42 days under the Matangini Hazra statue in Calcutta.

Trinamul insiders admitted that the party was in a spot as the names of two ministers were involved in the scam.

Some Trinamul leaders said the time has come for the party to distance itself from leaders found involved in corruption as most people in Bengal were still very fond of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“It remains to be seen how Didi handles the situation," said a source.

Trinamul sources said that that over the next few days, the party would launch a campaign to showcase its achievements in terms of offering a better quality of life to people in the state to counter the Opposition onslaught.

“Our government under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee is working for the benefit of the people of Bengal. If we consider that 0.01 per cent work of the government hampers the interest of people or students, let us give a chance to rectify it. We request (people) not to blame our government as we are not entertaining such things,” said Trinamul spokesperson Kunal Ghosh…

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari tweeted a video clip of an agitator trying to commit suicide after a scuffle with police. The Telegraph could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip. “These educated unemployed youths, agitating for jobs, for years now, were trying to build a temporary shade for the rainy season & a lavatory. I condemn this brutal act of the Police who are hounding the Cheated and hiding the Cheaters,” Suvendu tweeted.