Mamata Banerjee meets Bengal teachers who lost jobs

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday met thousands of teaching and non-teaching staffers who lost their jobs in a recent Supreme Court verdict that scrapped over 25,000 appointments, calling the recruitment process “vitiated".Ms 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.” 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.  Mamata Banerjee cited the example of the all-India medical entrance exam NEET and said the top court did not cancel the whole examination in that case. "We will find a way and stand by you. Suffer for two months, you don't have suffer for 20 years. And I will compensate for those two months too. You won't have to beg," she said.
Under fire, Mamata Banerjee has responded by accusing Opposition parties BJP and CPM of hatching a conspiracy aimed at the "collapse of the state education system". Targeting the rivals today, she said, "You have people everywhere. But don't snatch jobs from teachers to target me. Remember, an injured tiger is more dangerous. It's an attack on our government," she said.
The Supreme court's April 3 verdict cited large-scale irregularities and fraud in the recruitment process, leading to the dismissal of thousands of teachers. While Mamata Banerjee has vowed to abide by the court's ruling, she called the verdict unjust for deserving candidates.The controversy began with the 2016 SSC recruitment drive, which received 23 lakh applications for 24,640 vacancies. However, more appointment letters were issued than available posts. Investigations revealed tampered OMR sheets and manipulated rankings. The Calcutta High Court cancelled the appointments in April 2024, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court last week.