'Supreme Court must clarify..': Mamata after 25,000 Bengal teachers sacked
What's the story
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has vowed to protect the jobs of teachers whose appointments were quashed by the Supreme Court last week.
Addressing a function at Netaji Indoor Stadium, where hundreds of the fired individuals had gathered, she asked how the court decided who is "deserving" for his/her job.
"The Supreme Court must clarify who is deserving and who is not. Give us the list. No one has the right to break the education system," she said.
Remarks
Proactive steps to ensure the situation is handled
"In the Vyapam case in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, so many people were killed. They have not gotten justice till today. In NEET, many allegations surfaced. The Supreme Court did not cancel the examination. Why is Bengal being targeted...You are scared of Bengal's talent," she told the crowd.
She added that while the state government is bound by the order, it "will take proactive steps to ensure the situation is handled with utmost care and fairness."
Court's decision
Supreme Court's ruling on teacher appointments
She also declared that she will not allow eligible candidates to lose their jobs, and for that, she is ready to even go to jail "if anyone wants to penalize me for standing with those who lost school jobs."
The SC had recently quashed appointments of over 25,000 teachers and school staff over gross irregularities in their recruitment.
The SC observed that the entire selection process for the appointments of these teachers was grossly vitiated by large-scale manipulations and frauds.
Political response
Banerjee accuses opposition parties of conspiracy
"Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded," the top court remarked.
After the court's verdict, Banerjee accused opposition parties BJP and CPM of conspiring to destroy the state's education system.
She appealed to teachers not to resign as they haven't yet received termination letters.
Recruitment update
WBSSC chairman comments on fresh recruitment process
The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has promised to conduct fresh exams for teaching and non-teaching candidates of the 2016 recruitment drive after the SC's directive.
WBSSC Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said the commission would take legal advice on who can be included in the new tests.
He said that considering the huge number of candidates, the selection process is unlikely to be completed in three months as directed by the SC.