On Monday, the Calcutta High Court cancelled the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made through the State Level Selection Test (SLST) 2016 in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools. The High Court also ordered the teachers to return their salaries with interest.
After the Calcutta High Court cancelled the appointments, the BJP demanded Mamata Banerjee’s resignation, and said the order exposed the “brazen corruption” under the Trinamool Congress government.
“The BJP has no other work than to move the High Court against the state government. They have taken away the jobs of school teachers. Where will these 26,000 youth go? Will schools in West Bengal be closed? I have about 10 lakh vacant jobs but it is due to the court orders that I cannot give them to the youths. It is doing whatever the BJP is saying,” she said.
“I don’t interfere in a department’s procedure of recruitment. I don’t have a say in everything. But the Court has become a tirtha kendra for the BJP. Bail is being granted to criminals and people accused of murder. Is this even a law? I will not talk about judges but I have the full right to talk about the judgements. If there are faults then they would be subjected to scrutiny but how were the 26,000 jobs cancelled? Does it look like a joke?” she asked.
This is the second time Mamata Banerjee has mentioned the Calcutta High Court order. Soon after the order was passed, she said on Monday the court verdict cancelling the recruitments was “illegal” and that her government would appeal before a higher court. “We stand by those who lost their jobs. We will ensure you get justice, and challenge the order in a higher court. It is not mandatory to accept all verdicts. This order was passed as per the BJP’s instructions amid the elections,” she said during an election rally in the Raiganj Lok Sabha seat.
Meanwhile, the TMC supremo praised jailed heavyweight party leader Anubrata Mondal, who is presently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for his alleged involvement in a cattle smuggling case.
“Anubrata Mondal is a kind-hearted person. He is very down to earth. I don’t know the details of the case but he was loved by the people. He never returned anyone empty-handed if they sought his help. He knew the district (Birbhum) like the back of his hand. I have noticed in administrative review meetings how he used to work. In every election, he was kept under house arrest and was not allowed to move out. Raids are being carried out in the residences of our leaders. They are threatening them to either vote for the BJP or face the ED,” said Banerjee.