Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday extended her support to thousands of teaching and non-teaching staffers who recently lost their jobs in West Bengal’s government and aided schools, assuring them that she would do everything in her capacity to restore their dignity and rightful employment.

On Monday, hundreds of affected individuals gathered at Netaji Indoor Stadium to meet with the Chief Minister and seek reassurance.

“I stand by those who lost jobs in schools in Bengal, will do everything to restore their dignity,” PTI quoted her as saying. “I will not allow eligible candidates to lose school jobs,” she added.

Tensions flared as many job aspirants without entry passes attempted to gain access to the venue to attend the programme. A large number of police was deployed to manage the crowd and maintain order amidst the chaos.

The gathering came in response to the Supreme Court’s last week upholding of a Calcutta High Court order, which invalidated the appointment of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff due to alleged irregularities in the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment process. The court ruled that the entire recruitment drive had been compromised, prompting widespread outrage among the affected candidates.

Additionally, a section of the dismissed educators is preparing to file a review petition with the apex court and is also planning to seek the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu through a formal appeal for reinstatement.

Adding to the growing momentum, a united front of those impacted by alleged corruption in various SSC exams has announced a protest march, dubbed Nabanna Abhiyan, scheduled for April 21. However, the group has indicated that it is willing to withdraw the protest if Chief Minister Banerjee agrees to meet with them before April 15.