A group of teachers and non-teaching staff who lost their jobs due to a Supreme Court ruling which annulled the appointments of over 25,000 West Bengal school staff clashed with the police outside the office of the district inspector of schools in the Kasba area of Kolkata Wednesday.
The police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the protesters and allegedly kicked a few of them. The police issued a statement that four male and two female police personnel sustained injuries in an “unprovoked attack” by the protesters.
Protesters also held rallies and sat on dharnas outside DI offices in Purba Bardhaman, Malda, Purulia, and Murshidabad. Chaos also broke out at Acharya Sadan, the head office of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), as some teaching and non-teaching staff protested in front of the office.
On April 3, the Supreme Court termed the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment process as “vitiated and tainted by fraud”, and upheld a Calcutta High Court order on an alleged school jobs scam case. The bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar also called for a fresh selection process to fill the vacancies.
Tapati Chowdhury, a teacher at a school in Bhangar 1, told the Indian Express, “All we want is to differentiate between the tainted and the untainted.”
Arpita Haldar, also a teacher at Bhangar 1, said, “We have studied hard, taken exams, and worked for countless days, only to face this humiliation today. We can no longer go out in the neighbourhood, and though this situation is not our fault, we are the ones suffering the consequences.”
Bikash Pal, another teacher who lost his job, said, “The fault lies within the systems, and we are being victimised. We secured our jobs on merit; why should we suffer? We want our jobs back.”
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The Kolkata police released a statement on social media regarding the incident at the DI office in Kasba.
“It is clarified that an unruly mob launched an unprovoked and violent attack on police personnel, including women police, outside the Kasba DI Office. Four male and two female police personnel sustained injuries and are currently undergoing treatment. The police were compelled to use mild force to disperse the mob and prevent further injuries and damage to property. Investigation into the incident is underway,” it said.
Meanwhile, BJP MP and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay met with the SSC chairperson Siddhartha Majumder Wednesday.
Talking to the media after the meeting, he said, “We have asked him that the mirror image (of the OMR sheets) from the CBI be published and take lawful steps as per the Supreme Court order. There are many genuine candidates facing dire situations. He heard us and said he would speak to the seniors and take steps. We were looking for a soft stand from the government.”
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Gangopadhyay, however, criticised the police’s actions against protesters.
“Today, in light of the government’s actions in Kasba, Barasat, and other areas where there have been attacks by the police, we feel there is no point in being polite. The police have physically assaulted teachers, indicating that the administration has no interest in resolving the situation. Therefore, we will not go to Bikash Bhavan to submit our letter. The chief minister’s behaviour is unacceptable, and we strongly condemn the actions of the police.”
“Any steps we take will be in defence of teachers’ rights. We will wait for two days to see how the situation unfolds, and then we will determine our next actions. It is clear that the state government does not care about resolving this issue; otherwise, why would they resort to lathi charges against teachers? We stand firmly with the genuine candidates,” he added.
Calling Mamata Banerjee a “corrupt CM who should be removed immediately from the chair”, he accused the government of trying to cover up the issue. “Even in the R G Kar (rape-murder) case, they tried the same. This government is always trying to cover up issues. We do not want such a corrupt government.”