Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has questioned the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday upholding Calcutta High Court’s decision to terminate the appointments of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016 in connection with the jobs-for-cash scam.
“We have highest regard for judiciary.. but as a citizen, I am saying I can’t accept this judgement from the humanitarian point of view,” Mamata said at a press conference hours after the major judicial setback.
A key aspect of Thursday’s judgment is that even those appointed through fair means have suffered like the tainted candidates.
With the top court calling the selection process “vitiated and tainted”, Mamata questioned the blanket dismissal of all candidates. “The ones whom you call tainted, we don’t have proof regarding them,” the CM claimed.
“It’s not just 25,000 candidates, their families are impacted too,” she said, adding that many of them are depressed on hearing the verdict.
“Who will take responsibility if any of them takes some extreme step?”
Assuring her support to the dismissed teachers, Mamata said she and her government will be with them. “BJP can put me in jail if they want. We are thinking about how to deal with this legally,” she stated.
CM to attend affected teachers meeting
The CM announced that she would attend a gathering of the affected teachers on April 7. “All the teachers wanted to conduct a sabha (meeting), and they asked if I can be present. On April 7, I will participate in their sabha and listen to them. I will tell them not to lose hope. You all can apply, and we will make sure that the process is completed as soon as possible,” Mamata assured them.
She also advised them to form a ‘deprived teachers’ association’ to get justice.
‘Why can’t they be transferred like tainted judge’
Referring to the recent cash-at-home controversy involving Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma, Mamata said: “If you recover money from a sitting judge’s home, he is only transferred. Then why were these candidates not transferred? The first judge to give this order is now a BJP MP (Justice Abhijit Ganguly). BJP and CPM have conspired to lead to this verdict,” she alleged.
Mamata questioned who will teach in schools if so many teachers lose their jobs.
Pointing out that over 11,000 of the affected teachers taught in Classes IX and X, and over 5,500 in Classes XI and XII, Mamata said, “Class 9-12 are very important, the gateway to higher education. Many of them are correcting answer sheets of board exams. Do BJP and CPM want the education system to collapse?” she said.
‘BJP targeting Bengal’
Accusing the BJP-led Central government of deliberately targeting Bengal, Mamata said: “So many scams take place in BJP-ruled states, yet no investigation happens. Is it a crime to be born in Bengal? Or are they afraid of Bengal’s talent? They want to collapse the education system of Bengal. I understand the target of BJP and the government of India. The people will answer them.”
