Aggrieved teachers in West Bengal who lost their jobs after the Supreme Court scrapped over 24,000 jobs in the wake of the West Bengal school recruitment scam.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former Calcutta High Court Judge, Abhijit Gangopadhyay, said on Tuesday (April 8, 2025) that distinguishing between ‘tainted’ and ‘non-tainted’ candidates among those appointed by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in the allegedly irregular 2016 recruitment process is feasible.
His comments come in the wake of a Supreme Court order on April 3, 2025, which upheld an earlier Calcutta High Court decision annulling the appointments of 25,752 teachers and non-teaching staff. This annulment, stemming from alleged irregularities in the selection process, has triggered significant disruption within the West Bengal school education system.
“It is possible to separate tainted from the non-tainted. The OMR [Optical Mark Reader] sheets which were recovered by the CBI can be made public by the State government, and it would reveal the ‘tainted’ from the ‘non-tainted’,” Mr. Gangopadhyay asserted. He further questioned whether the physical copies of the OMR sheets still existed or had potentially been destroyed.
The MP, accompanied by BJP leader Kaustav Bagchi and several teachers whose appointments were cancelled, visited the WBSSC office on Tuesday (April 8, 2025), presumably to press for a resolution based on his suggestion.
Mr. Gangopadhyay, who represents the Tamluk constituency, criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying, “I had urged Mamata Banerjee to rise above politics, but she did not bring out the list differentiating tainted from the non-tainted. She perhaps thought if she did not allow them [WBSSC/State] to make a distinction, they would be able to save their jobs.”
During his tenure as a judge at the Calcutta High Court, Mr. Gangopadhyay presided over the Bench that first brought the alleged irregularities in the 2016 WBSSC recruitment process to light and subsequently directed the CBI to investigate the matter.
The judge-turned-politician also suggested the formation of a committee, potentially including himself and other lawyers involved in the litigation, to examine the matter. However, West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu dismissed the proposal, remarking that despite being a parliamentarian, the “MP is behaving like a Judge”.
Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh also directed criticism at the former judge. “Why did he not settle the issue when he was a judge? Did he keep the issue pending so that after getting elected as a BJP MP he can issue solutions?” Mr. Ghosh questioned.
Protests in Bengal
Meanwhile, the State government is seeking legal recourse. On Monday (April 7, 2025), Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with affected teachers and non-teaching staff, assuring them of support and announcing that her government intends to file a review petition before the Supreme Court against its April 3 order.
Protests related to the cancelled appointments continued across the State. Workers and supporters of opposition parties – including the BJP, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Congress – held demonstrations in Kolkata and Howrah, demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation. Youth and student wings of these parties, such as the BJP’s Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and the CPI(M)‘s youth wing (likely the Democratic Youth Federation of India – DYFI), separately blocked arterial roads in the two cities.
In Kolkata, approximately 100 BJYM activists blocked the busy Mahatma Gandhi Road-Central Avenue crossing for about an hour, reiterating the demand for the Chief Minister’s resignation. In Howrah, supporters believed to be from the CPI(M)‘s youth wing staged demonstrations outside administrative offices. Affected teachers and non-teaching staff have also warned of a large-scale protest if a resolution to the crisis is not found promptly.
Published – April 09, 2025 10:02 am IST