West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu said that the state will not publish a list of “tainted” and “untainted” candidates of the 2016 recruitment process by the SSC, as their “legal counsel has stated it may lead to contempt of court”.
The list has been a key demand for protesting teachers and non-teaching staff who lost their jobs after a recent Supreme Court order, many of whom have been on a sit-in protest since Monday afternoon.
On April 3, the top court invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers at state-run and aided schools, calling the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted”.
Basu, on April 11, had told representatives of affected teachers and non-teaching staff that the list would be published by April 21 — subject to legal clearance.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Basu said, “Do not do anything that will weaken the review petition, Whatever is done will be done through legal means. The Chief Minister of Bengal is beside the job losers and under her orders, we are working for them. We have lost in the Supreme Court but who has won?”
“The Government will not take any strict action. We believe in talks. Have we used any force? We are hopeful that they will sit for talks. We are cooperating, but they have gheraoed the SSC office and are not allowing them to work. How can both happen? We don’t want a single innocent person to suffer. We would like them to withdraw the strike immediately,” he said.
Basu further said, “We are working on the matter and the matter is subjudice in the Supreme Court. We are moving for a review petition soon. We are following the orders of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has (let the teachers remain at their jobs) till December 31, 2025.”
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Basu further stated that the teachers wanted a meeting and that the SSC had agreed to the meeting. “They had some demands that are not as per the SC’s directions, so we cannot do those… Has anyone been given a termination letter, or has their salary stopped, or has any government official stopped them from working? Where there is no uncertainty, then why do something that will affect the review petition?”
Basu refuted all charges that anything had been said about the first three counselling lists being untainted, “Why are they (the protestors) talking about counselling when that was not even given in the Court’s order? The SC has clearly said that those who are not tainted can go to school. They are calling for trouble for their review petition.”
Hitting out at the Opposition, he said, “What is the Opposition doing there? What are they trying to do?”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd