WBSSC recruitment case: Tension at Bengal education department as protesting job losers forcefully enter HQ

Kolkata: Tension prevailed at the West Bengal education department at Salt Lake on Thursday afternoon after secondary and higher secondary government schoolteachers, who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order last month, gheraoed the main office.

The demonstration at the headquarters situated on the northern outskirts of Kolkata was organised by ‘genuine’ teachers in state-run schools who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order in the job-for-cash case.

The protesters united under the ‘Genuine Teachers’ Rights Forum’, started protesting in front of Bikash Bhavan on Thursday afternoon, surrounding the office from all sides.

Tension mounted after a section of the protestors broke open the lock of the main gate of Bikash Bhavan building, went inside the office premises, and started protesting there.

As the huge police contingent present at the spot attempted to stop them, a scuffle broke out between the cops and the protesters.

The principal demand of the protesters is that the state government and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) should immediately release a list segregating the ‘untainted’ candidates from the ‘tainted’ ones, who got jobs by paying money.

They contend that once the segregated list is published, the jobs of ‘untainted’ candidates can be protected and that of ‘tainted’ ones can be terminated.

“We had been trying to meet with state education minister Bratya Basu since May 7. However, no positive signal has come from the office of the education minister on this count. In such a situation, we had no other option but to organise this demonstration.

“All we want is that the genuine candidates get back their jobs with due respect, and at the same time, the ‘untainted’ candidates should be segregated from the ‘tainted’ ones,” said the forum convener, Mehboob Mondal.

On April 3 this year, the Supreme Court’s Division Bench of erstwhile Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had upheld a previous order by the Calcutta High Court’s Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi, cancelling 25,753 school jobs in West Bengal.

The apex court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel of 25,753 candidates had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the ‘untainted’ candidates from the ‘tainted’ ones.

The state government and WBSSC have already filed review petitions at the apex court on this issue.

The demand of the forum is also that the state government should share with them the details on the progress of the review petition.

IANS