Mamata Banerjee meets Bengal teachers who lost jobs: ‘Ready to even go to jail if…’
West Bengal's chief minister Mamata Banerjee met sacked teaching staff after a Supreme Court ruling voided 25,000 school appointments.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday met thousands of teaching and non-teaching staffers who lost their jobs in government-run and aided schools following a recent Supreme Court verdict that scrapped over 25,000 appointments, calling the recruitment process “vitiated".
Hundreds of affected individuals gathered at Netaji Indoor Stadium for the meeting in Kolkata, where Mamata Banerjee assured them of her support, stating, “I stand by those who lost their jobs in schools in Bengal. I will do everything to restore their dignity.”
Also Read | BJP attacks Mamata Banerjee over teacher recruitment corruption in West Bengal: ‘Didi will go to jail’
She added that the state government is bound by the Supreme Court’s order, but “will take proactive steps to ensure the situation is handled with utmost care and fairness.”
“I will not allow eligible candidates to lose school jobs… I am ready to even go to jail if anyone wants to penalise me for standing with those who lost school jobs,” Mamata Banerjee said.
Also Read | Setback to Bengal government, Supreme court upholds dismissal of 25,000 teachers
The Trinamool Congress supremo also alleged that her name was being dragged into something about which she has no inkling.
“We have separate plans to ensure eligible candidates don't become jobless or have a break in service,” Mamata Banerjee added.
The chaos outside the stadium reflected the emotional weight of the moment — large crowds, including those without official entry passes, thronged the venue, leading to a security challenge, news agency PTI reported. Police had a tough time managing the crowd as people attempted to gain entry to hear the chief minister speak.
The gathering was her first major public outreach since the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta high court's order that cancelled thousands of appointments due to procedural lapses and irregularities in the recruitment process.
On April 3, the apex court invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers in state-run and aided schools in Bengal, calling the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted”.
Suvendu Adhikari demands Mamata Banerjee's resignation
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and West Bengal Legislative Assembly leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari, along with other BJP MLAs, protested against the state government on Monday.
They are demanding Mamata Banerjee's resignation as CM and accusing the TMC government of corruption. The protest follows the Supreme Court's order, which led to the loss of jobs for SSC teachers.
Speaking during the protest, Suvendu Adhikari said, "Mamata Banerjee should go to jail. She is the main beneficiary. Her nephew took a bribe of ₹700 crore..."
Suvendu Adhikari accused Mamata Banerjee's nephew of taking a bribe of ₹700 crore. Earlier, the BJP unit of West Bengal held a protest rally a day after the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta high court's decision to quash the recruitment of more than 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in 2016 for the state-run and aided schools.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
