A section of protesting teachers marched to the State Assembly on Monday, demanding that their jobs be reinstated without a fresh recruitment process
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DEBASISH BHADURI
Demanding that their jobs be reinstated without a fresh recruitment process, a group of unemployed teachers held a protest march to the West Bengal Assembly on Monday. The same day, BJP MLAs staged a walk-out from the Assembly over the School Service Commission recruitment scam and other issues.
The walk-out followed Speaker Biman Banerjee’s refusal to admit an adjournment motion over the “crisis in education sector” linked to the cash-for-jobs scam.
During an uproar in the Assembly, the Speaker suspended BJP MLA Manoj Orao over “breach of discipline” and gave a warning to party chief whip Shankar Ghosh for his conduct. Following this, all BJP MLAs exited the House.
The ruckus broke out after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking during the question-answer session in the Assembly, accused the BJP-led Centre of withholding MGNREGA funds to West Bengal for over two years.
“The Central government has illegally withheld Bengal’s MGNREGA funds. Even States with double-engine governments have faced corruption charges, but their funds haven’t been stopped. Only our legitimate dues have been withheld. This is a corrupt government,” said Banerjee, TMC supremo.
The BJP legislators protested against her remarks, prompting an escalation that led to the suspension of Orao.
Taking to X, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari launched a scathing attack on the Speaker for suspending the BJP MLA and said Orao’s only “crime” was that he wanted to raise the critical issue of untainted teachers losing their jobs and the “deplorable” state of education in Bengal.
“Today, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly witnessed a shameful assault on democracy. The Speaker, in a blatant misuse of power, suspended prominent ST leader and BJP MLA Manoj Kumar Oraon. His only “crime”? He wanted to raise critical issues on the floor of the Assembly; the plight of untainted teachers losing their jobs, the deplorable state of Education in West Bengal, and the rampant corruption of the TMC Government behind these failures,” Adhikari said.
‘Will not be silenced’
The BJP leader alleged that this suspension of the Opposition legislator was not just unfair, but a deliberate attempt by the Trinamool Congress to silence the truth by gagging the voice of the Opposition on the floor of the Legislative Assembly.
“The BJP will not be silenced. We will continue to fight for the rights of teachers, students, doctors and every citizen of West Bengal who deserves a corruption-free and transparent government,” Adhikari added.
During the day, protests over the ongoing SSC recruitment crisis intensified. Seeking a meeting with the CM, a large group of untainted teaching and non-teaching staff held a protest march to the Assembly.
The demonstrators, many of whom have lost their jobs due to irregularities in the recruitment process, beat traditional drums, demanding justice and reinstatement. They also demanded that the process of submitting applications for a fresh hiring process be put on hold.
Fresh hiring by year-end
The application window opened on June 16 and is scheduled to close on July 14. Last week, West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) Chairperson Siddhartha Majumder said the fresh hiring exercise from Monday could not be put on hold.
Notably, the Supreme Court on April 3 upheld the Calcutta High Court’s ruling that annulled over 25,000 appointments of teachers and non-teaching staff made by the WBSSC in 2016, stating that the entire selection process had been “vitiated and tainted” beyond resolution.
In a modified order on April 17, the apex court allowed “untainted” teachers to continue their service till the end of the year. The court said that the teachers could retain their jobs till a fresh recruitment process is conducted by the end of 2025.
Published on June 16, 2025
