Teachers on May 17 continued their protest for the 11th day outside Kolkata’s Bikash Bhawan against the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government over 26,000 teachers losing their jobs in connection with the SSC recruitment case. The protest followed a Supreme Court judgment that held that the whole appointment process was tainted.
Earlier, West Bengal LoP and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said, “We are supporting them (SSC teachers) in their protest. Their demands are legitimate. Mamata Banerjee is the main culprit for creating this problem in the state. Mamata Banerjee is incompetent; she should go. From the RG Kar movement to this teacher movement, the BJP’s stand is clear, we are supporting them… The monsoon session of the assembly will begin from June 9, These issues should be resolved there and if it does not happen then the assembly should be closed.”
On May 14 night, several teachers were left injured after a clash erupted between the SSC protesting teachers and police after the police resorted to a lathi charge in order to disperse the crowd. This follows a judgment by the Supreme Court, which held that the whole appointment process of the SSC was tainted.
On April 17, the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, reacted to the Supreme Court’s verdict on the SSC recruitment and stated that the matter would be resolved in a year.
“The Supreme Court has allowed the teachers to continue till December 2025. We were worried how the salaries will be paid to them. Last time, it was said that salaries cannot be paid. We had assured them that they would not face any trouble. We have got time till December. Within this year, the matter will be resolved.”
The Supreme Court allowed teachers whose appointments had been cancelled due to irregularities in the recruitment process to continue until the fresh selection process was completed.A bench led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna clarified that the aforesaid relief is only for teachers whose appointments were “untainted.”
The top court also refused to grant relief to continue service to the teaching staff in Groups C and D, stating that there are more “tainted” candidates in those categories.
The top court also directed the West Bengal government and the WB Staff Selection Commission to issue advertisements for fresh recruitment of assistant teachers by May 31 and to complete the entire process by December 31.
The top court took its decision citing that the students undergoing studies should not suffer on account of the order passed by the court following the irregularities in the entire recruitment process in 2016.
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