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West Bengal cabinet sanctions over 6,000 appointments in gram panchayats
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TMC named the campaign ‘Jaan ki Baat’ (voice of the people) to counter the PM’s popular radio show ‘Maan ki Baat’. The data-intensive video focused on the unemployed youth in the country
Kolkata: At a time when federal agencies are probing alleged corruption in appointments of school and civic body employees across West Bengal, the state cabinet has sanctioned more than 6,000 appointments in the gram panchayat and panchayat samitis, prompting the Opposition to accuse chief minister Mamata Banerjee of pulling a stunt ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The decision to fill up 6,734 vacant posts – ranging from executive assistant engineers to clerks and peons – was taken at a cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon when the Trinamool Congress (TMC) launched its social media campaign for the upcoming general elections by releasing a video on unemployment across India.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the TMC named the campaign ‘Jaan ki Baat’ (voice of the people) to counter the PM’s popular radio show ‘Maan ki Baat’. The data-intensive video focused on the unemployed youth in the country.
Bengal water resources minister Manas Bhunia, who was present at the cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister, said, “The appointments will be made across all three layers of the panchayat system. Some of these are new posts.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a bureaucrat from the state secretariat said, “This is a continuation of the government’s efforts to fill up vacancies and create new posts despite the cash crunch. Decisions to appoint a few thousand health workers, police constables and fire department staff were taken in phases over the past one year.”
The chief spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bengal unit, Samik Bhattacharya, said, “Mamata Banerjee is famous for pulling stunts but this one will not influence voters. Had the government been serious about unemployment then thousands of qualified youths would not have become victims of a well-organised job scam in which TMC leaders are prime suspects.”
