The release of the list of 1,806 ‘tainted’ candidates from the 2016 State Level Selection Test (SLST) by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on the direction of the Supreme Court seems not to have put the controversy to rest.

While state Education Minister Bratya Basu said the list was “comprehensive”, petitioners have claimed that the entire list was not published and have threatened to move the court.

A group of TMC leaders and office-bearers, who also found their names among the ‘tainted’ job getters, said they would seek legal recourse as they got the teaching jobs in a fair manner.

“I know I secured my job transparently and on merit. In the last three years, the CBI (which is probing the alleged irregularities in the appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff in 2016) never summoned me. I will move the Calcutta High Court on Monday,” said TMC councilor from Rajpur-Sonarpur municipality, Kuheli Ghosh. While her name figures in the list of tainted candidates, Ghosh began her career as a primary school teacher and, in 2016, was empanelled by the WBSSC for a high school post.

Other TMC leaders whose names are in the list of “tainted candidates” include Priyanka Mondal, daughter of Debes Mondal, the TMC president of Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas, Ajoy Majhi, TMC’s area president in Jalchak region of Pingla, in Paschim Medinipur, and Nazimmullah, son of Mohammad Isha Sardar, the elected functionary TMC-run panchayat samity, in Barasat, North 24 Parganas district.
While Majhi refused to speak, Nazimmullah said, “I do not accept this list. We will go to court. There is no relation to politics. I have never given any money. This is a lie being spread to malign us.”

TMC leader Bibhas Malik, a former Zilla Parishad member from Khanakul, Hooghly, his wife Santoshi Malik and another local TMC leader Nadimul Haque’s wife Namita Adak are also named in the list. Sampa Ghosh, daughter-in-law of TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, is also among the ‘tainted’ candidates.

Both Bibhas and Santoshi secured teaching jobs in 2016. Bibhas served as a member of the Zilla Parishad between 2013 and 2018.

“I just came to know about it. So, I cannot say anything. The matter is in the High Court and Supreme Court. The law will take its own course and the truth will come out,” MLA Nirmal Ghosh said.

Sahina Sultana, a Trinamool leader from Khanakul and sitting member of the Hooghly Zilla Parishad, is also on the tainted list. She served as the Zilla Parishad’s education karmadhyaksha from 2013 to 2018, coinciding with the period she allegedly secured her SSC job.

Allegations have also been made about her proximity to former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee.

The list also includes Ankita Adhikari, daughter of TMC MLA and former minister Paresh Chandra Adhikari, and TMC MLA Hamidul Rahman’s daughter Rosnara Begum.

Speaking to mediapersons, Rahman said, “My daughter and son-in-law are already fighting a case. They will take a call on this.”

Meanwhile, Kavita Burman, a councillor from Uttar Dinajpur who previously was in the TMC but later joined the BJP, is also in the list of 1,806. Pintu Sam, an office bearer of the BJP Yuva Morcha, also features on the list.

On Saturday, the list initially included the names, roll numbers, and serial numbers of 1,804 tainted candidates. Later in the night, the names of two more candidates were added to the list, bringing the total to 1,806.

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, alleged that many more names of TMC leaders’ children and relatives are yet to be disclosed. “Suddenly, we see that at 2 am, a new list with two more names added to the tainted list. This shows that there are many names of children and relatives of TMC leaders that have not been disclosed yet. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” the BJP leader said.

Senior counsel Firdous Samim, appearing for the petitioners, also claimed that the entire list has not been published. “I am very surprised by the list. The names given in the affidavits by the WBSSC to the High Court and the Supreme Court do not feature here. There are many more names, close to 6,000, which should have been there. This is not the entire list,” the lawyer said.

Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, a senior advocate and CPI(M) leader, said, “From the very beginning, you have said this list will be incomplete. They do not want to maintain transparency. In our calculation, the list will cross 6,000 names, but they are trying to save many.”

However, Education Minister Basu rejected the charge. “We are not bothered with what others say; we will follow what the court says,” he said.

The Supreme Court on April 3 had invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff of state-aided schools, deeming the recruitment process “vitiated and tainted.”

Later, the SC allowed untainted candidates to receive salaries till December. The 1,804 tainted teachers have been barred from returning to schools.

On April 17, the court asked the state government and the school service commission to give affidavits by May 31 over the fresh recruitment exercise to fill up the posts that fall vacant, after which new dates of examinations were announced.