BJP demands Mamata's resignation after SC invalidates appointment of 26,000 teachers

Kolkata: The West Bengal BJP on Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the "plight" of around 26,000 teachers whose jobs were invalidated by the Supreme Court.

The apex court on Thursday invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal, terming their selection process "vitiated and tainted".

"The sole responsibility for this massive corruption in teacher recruitment lies with the failed Chief Minister of the state, @MamataOfficial. The Supreme Court's verdict has made it clear how, under Mamata Banerjee's rule, the merit of educated unemployed youth in West Bengal was sold in exchange for money!" state BJP president and Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said in a post on X.

He demanded that Banerjee should take full responsibility of this "huge corruption" and resign from the post of the chief minister.

"No more forgiveness," he added.

In a video posted on X, Majumdar expressed empathy with the deserving candidates who got their jobs "using their skills and merit but became sufferers due to corrupt mishandling of the entire recruitment process by the Mamata Banerjee government which is solely responsible for facilitating jobs to a large number of tainted teachers in an irregular manner".

"They could not be distinguished from the deserving candidates. The corrupt Mamata Banerjee government owes an explanation to the people of the state, particularly the families of the deserving teachers," Majumdar added.

TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen said that the party respects the judgement and asserted that it has always been against corruption.

"We hope that the state government will examine the order, the legal issues threadbare and take appropriate steps after speaking to legal experts. The party will always stand with the deserving candidates," she added.

Hundreds of teachers, who had qualified the 2016 recruitment examinations conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), had been staging a sit-in in the heart of Kolkata for months, requesting that the merits of their cases be considered and validated by the judiciary while giving the judgement.

Many of them broke down in tears after hearing about the SC judgement.

"We lost all hope. We respect the order of the Supreme Court. But what is our fault? We had qualified the 2016 SSC exams. But due to corrupt practices of a section of the government that facilitated the appointment of some undeserving candidates, our whole world has come crashing down," one of the teachers who was working in a state-aided school, told reporters.

Another candidate alleged that both the state and the Centre were responsible for the situation.

"We hear that we will be allowed to sit for SSC exams again. Had it been in 2016-17, we would have been enthused about the prospect and started afresh. But tell us how would it be possible for us now when we have crossed the age limit of 30 years?" she questioned.

An apex court bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict dated April 22, 2024, annulling the appointments.

Pronouncing the verdict, the CJI said that the employees, whose appointments have been annulled, are not needed to return their salaries and other emoluments.

The top court also ordered the state government to initiate a fresh selection process and complete it within three months.

It, however, made relaxation for the disabled employees on humanitarian grounds, saying they would remain in the job.

The bench fixed the West Bengal government's plea challenging the high court direction for a CBI probe for hearing on April 4.

On February 10, the top court reserved its judgement on a batch of petitions in the matter.