West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has pledged to support the over 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff members who lost their jobs due to the Supreme Court's cancellation of appointments made through the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment(WBSSC) process, stating, "I'm ready to even go to jail if anyone wants to penalise me for standing with teachers, who lost school jobs."
On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld the cancellation of 25,753 school job appointments made through the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment.
What Did The CM Mamata Banerjee Say?
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with a group of former teaching and non-teaching staffers who lost their jobs at government-run schools in West Bengal at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Monday.
"Ready to even go to jail if anyone wants to penalise me for standing with those who lost school jobs. We have separate plans to ensure eligible candidates don't become jobless or have a break in service," CM said at a meeting with affected candidates and school staffers, as quoted by PTI.
The chief minister also claimed that her name was being dragged into something about which “I have no inkling”, referring to discrepancies in the school job appointments.
"My name being dragged into something about which I have no inkling. There is a conspiracy to break the entire education system. A dirty game is being played by some people," she added.
Case Background
The controversy began with the 2016 SSC recruitment drive, which received 2.3 million applications for 25,753 vacancies. However, the number of appointment letters issued exceeded the available posts.
During the investigation, it was revealed that there was tampering of OMR sheets and manipulation of rankings.
In April 2024, the Calcutta High Court cancelled the appointments, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court last week.
