NEW DELHI: It is BJP versus Mamata Banerjee once again in battleground West Bengal. Months after the fierce faceoff over the R G Kar incident, the bitter political rivals are back on the streets – this time over the school jobs case as they try to corner each other over the loss of jobs of 25,753 teachers and staffers in state-run and aided schools in West Bengal.
On April 3, a bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar found that the West Bengal School Service Commission’s selection process of 2016 was based on large-scale manipulations and fraud.
“In our opinion, this is a case wherein the entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded”, the apex court bench stated in its judgement.
While the BJP has gone all out to corner the Trinamool government for the mess, Mamata has been quick to unleash a counter offensive. “Was there some sort of game behind the verdict? Who had played the game from behind?” the chief minister questioned while addressing a gathering of job losers at Netaji Indoor Stadium in central Kolkata on Monday afternoon. In a bid to woo the affected teachers, the Trinamool chief also made an emotional pitch as she announced that she would continue fighting for the sacked teachers as long as she is alive – even if it meant going to the jail.
In a clear message to the opposition, Banerjee alleged that a “dirty game” was being played to destroy the state’s education system. “A dirty game is being played by some people. One should figure out the real faces behind the masks. Many are trying to mislead people with false information,” she said.
Without naming the party, Mamata lashed out at senior advocate and CPM leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya for initiating the legal proceedings that culminated in the Supreme Court verdict.
‘Mamata should go to jail’
This as the BJP MLAs mounted pressure on Mamata and accused her TMC government of corruption. Leader of opposition in state assembly Suvendu Adhikari accused Mamata’s nephew of taking a bribe of Rs 700 crore.
“Mamata Banerjee should go to jail. She is the main beneficiary. Her nephew took a bribe of Rs 700 crore,” the BJP leader said at a protest of party MLAs.
Bengal BJP leader and Union minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar accused Mamata of ruining the state’s education system and demanded that she be jailed. “Mamata Banerjee has ruined the education system of West Bengal. The next 10 generations will suffer and Mamata Banerjee is responsible for this and she should be put behind bars,” the BJP leader said.
“So many people have lost their jobs. Who is responsible for this? It is Mamata Banerjee and her Cabinet. Did she ever admit that her leaders were the ones who were doing the corruption? If she were sincere, she should have thrown out those who were involved in corruption. But you are involved in this, that is why you are trying your best to save them,” he said.
‘Will do everything to restore your dignity’
Aware of the adverse fallout of the BJP’s campaign, Mamata has assured full support to eligible candidates who lost school jobs and asserted that her government will ensure they don’t remain jobless or have a break in service.
The chief minister urged the affected teachers and staff to return to their respective schools and “voluntarily” resume duties. She assured the aggrieved teachers that she would make alternative arrangements for all deserving candidates “within two months”.
“You can return to your schools and voluntarily resume teaching. You are still in service since no termination letter has been served to you yet. Our government is duty-bound to ensure that no deserving candidate loses a job. We have plans ready to ensure that the eligible candidates do not face any break in service. We will not allow them to remain jobless,” Banerjee said at the meeting at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here, where thousands of affected teachers had turned up.
“I will stand by those who lost their jobs in an unjust manner. I don’t care what others think. I will do everything to restore your dignity,” Mamata added.
Banerjee appealed to the aggrieved teachers to “trust” the government in doing its job, and said there should be no face-offs between the “deserving” and “tainted” candidates.
The chief minister also claimed that her name was being dragged into something about which she had “no inkling”, referring to discrepancies in the school job appointments. “I am ready to even go to jail if anyone wants to penalise me for standing with those who lost school jobs,” Banerjee asserted.
“One should figure out the real faces from the masks because many are now trying to mislead people with false information. There is a conspiracy to break the entire education system. A dirty game is being played by some people,” she said, in an apparent reference to the opposition BJP and the CPM.
However, not all were convinced with Mamata’s assurances. Some of them expressed dissatisfaction and claimed that no concrete guarantees were provided regarding reinstatement of their jobs.
Bengal board moves SC seeking ‘modification’ of order
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) moved the Supreme Court on Monday seeking ‘modification’ in its order annulling over 25,000 jobs in schools last week, a high-level source in the education department said here.
In an appeal to the apex court, the Board’s lawyer requested that either “deserving” candidates be allowed to attend their duties till the end of this academic year, or till a fresh recruitment process as directed by the court is completed, whichever is earlier, the source said.
With assembly elections in the state next year, the opposition, especially the BJP, will continue to raise the pitch on behalf of the affected teachers. However, unlike the R G Kar incident when Mamata took a long time to meet with the protesting doctors, the Trinamool chief this time around appears to be more proactive in trying to ensure that the BJP does not steal the advantage and put her on the dock once again.
(With inputs from agencies)
