'Can't accept verdict, but will abide by it', Mamata after SC setback

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she does not accept the Supreme Court judgment personally, but her government will implement it and repeat the selection process. She also questioned if Opposition BJP and CPM wanted Bengal's education system to collapse. Hours after her government faced a big setback in the teachers' recruitment case.. Mamata Banerjee on Thuesday addressed a press conference in Kolkata and said, "As a citizen of this country, I have every right, and I cannot accept this judgment, with due respect to the judges. I am expressing my opinion from a humanitarian perspective. Don't misinform or create confusion," she told the media. She asked "How many BJP leaders were arrested in the Vyapam case? Does the BJP want to ensure the collapse of West Bengal's education system?" she asked. The CM said she would meet those who have lost their jobs.

West Bengal: CM Mamata Banerjee on Supreme Court's judgment regarding West Bengal SSC Recruitment Scam says, "We have studied the Supreme Court's order, and I do not wish to question or speak against any judge. As a citizen, I do not accept the Supreme Court's decision on SSC. I… pic.twitter.com/79memN0e63

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Referring to the huge case recovery from the residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma, she said, "If you recover money from a sitting judge's home, he is only transferred. Then why were these candidates not transferred? The first judge to give this order is now a BJP MP. BJP and CPM have conspired to lead to this verdict," she said. She questioned who would teach in classrooms if so many teachers lost their jobs. She said over 11,000 of the affected teachers taught in Class 9 and 10 and over 5,500 in Class 11 and 12. "Class 9-12 are very important classes, the gateway to higher education. Many of them are correcting answer sheets of board exams. Do BJP and CPM want the education system to collapse?" she said.Mamata Banerjee extended her support to the dismissed teachers. "I will be beside the teachers. BJP can put me in jail if they want. We are thinking about how to deal with this legally," she said.
The West Bengal BJP on Thursday demanded the resignation of Mamata Banerjee for the "plight" of around 26,000 teachers whose jobs were invalidated by the Supreme Court. Union Minister of State for Education and state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar demanded that Banerjee take full responsibility for this "huge corruption" and resign from the post of chief minister. The CPI(M) said the Bengal government should take urgent steps to fill up the vacancies that have been created by the SC's judgement.