Fewer teachers, more outsiders protesting outside Bengal education dept HQ: Mamata

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that she was not opposed to the teachers, who lost jobs following a Supreme Court order, protesting outside the state education department headquarters seeking permanent reinstatement, but claimed the agitation saw participation of more outsiders than teachers.

Denying the chief minister’s claim, the agitators requested her to come to the protest site and see by herself whether outsiders outnumber the teachers who have been protesting for five consecutive days.

The protestors, part of the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum, include teachers who had cleared the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) examination, but were among the 25,753 whose appointments were invalidated by the Supreme Court last month, which termed the recruitment process "vitiated and tainted".

"I am not against any demonstration, but there is a Lakshman Rekha (limit). I believe outsiders are involved. The number of teachers is fewer, while outsiders is more. Just as I don’t have the right to block anyone, no one has the right to block me either," the CM said at the Kolkata airport before leaving for north Bengal.

She condemned the breaking of the gate at Bikash Bhavan, the education department headquarters, by the protestors on May 15 and forcible confinement of people inside the building.

"I have sympathy for them. I told them during our meeting that we will file a review petition in the Supreme Court. If the court accepts the petition, that will be good. Our lawyers will do everything to help them retain their jobs. But if the court rules otherwise, we have to abide by that," Banerjee said.

The CM, who had held a meeting on April 7 with the teachers who lost their jobs, urged the protestors to trust the state government.

"Teachers should remain above politics and continue helping students and society. Many are still working, and we have no complaints against them, nor against those who are protesting," she said.

Banerjee expressed concern over incidents during the protest, including the alleged mistreatment of a pregnant woman and a student who injured herself while trying to leave the building.

"A pregnant woman wasn't allowed to go home. They complained of being trapped inside for 20 hours. An examinee, who was repeatedly saying that she wanted to go home, jumped off the building and injured in her legs. She is now hospitalised," Banerjee added.

Reiterating that the state had not stopped anyone’s salary, including those in Group C and D categories, the chief minister said she was disturbed by those allegedly "instigating" the teachers.

"I do not know who is instigating the protesters. Those who went to court caused this situation, and now they want to act like saviours. They did not lose their jobs because of us," she said.

Echoing the CM's views, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee stressed the importance of non-violence in protests.

"Everyone has the right to protest — not just in Bengal, but across the country. I’m not demeaning their protest. But protests should not be given a political colour," the Diamond Harbour MP told reporters.

"I’ve seen footage of the gate being broken. I’m not blaming anyone, but protests should not turn violent. That destroys the essence of protest. Government property should not be vandalised," he added.

In response to the accusations, the protestors urged the CM to show a humane approach to their situation while rejecting her claims that many of those seen at the protest site were outsiders.

"Had she cared to visit, she would have seen that only eligible teachers turned up before Bikash Bhavan on May 15 and staying out in the open 24x7 since then," Deserving Teachers Rights Forum spokesperson Chinmoy Mondal told PTI, standing outside the education department headquarters.

Pointing at other protestors, he said, "Yes, there are outsiders here. Our family members, close friends and you - the members of the media. We urge the honourable CM to view our situation from a human angle." To a query, Mondal said neither he nor any other 15 protesting teachers visited a police station on Monday as directed.

They were named in an FIR by the police accusing them of damaging government property and blocking the way of state government employees and restraining them from their work during the siege on May 15.

"False charges have been framed against us. We are consulting lawyers before next steps," he said.

Mondal claimed they had facilitated safe passage for ailing employees who were stuck inside and even arranged food and water for the others.

He said, “We are also spending days on the road, far away from homes, because of irregularities committed by some people in the government and in SSC. Can't we expect fellow state government employees to show a little more empathy and solidarity to us?" Dipti Hazra, another protesting teacher, said they would not write recruitment exams again. “We have earned praise from our students and their parents in all these years,” she said.

"We are not associated with any political party. We only wish to get back our job which had been taken away from us due to corruption," she added.