NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking her intervention in the ongoing row over the recruitment of teachers in the West Bengal.
In his letter, Congress MP highlighted the recent Supreme Court verdict that upheld a Calcutta HC judgment, which declared the 2016 teacher recruitment process null and void due to serious irregularities. As a result, over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff appointments were cancelled.
Rahul Gandhi also drew attention to the plight of those selected through fair means, stating, “Any crime committed during recruitment should be condemned… however, treating teachers selected through fair means on par with tainted teachers is a serious injustice.” He pointed out that many of these “untainted” teachers have been serving for nearly a decade and their dismissal could lead to significant disruption in the education system and financial hardship for their families.
Appealing directly to the President, Gandhi wrote, “You have served as a teacher yourself. I am sure you understand the enormous human cost of this injustice… I request you to urge the government to ensure that candidates selected through fair means are allowed to continue.”
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court set aside part of the Calcutta high court’s order that called for a CBI probe into the West Bengal cabinet’s decision to create supernumerary posts for these employees. However, it allowed the continuation of the CBI investigation into other aspects of the recruitment process.
The row stemmed from the 2016 recruitment drive by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), which was marred by allegations of corruption and favouritism.
The Calcutta high court had earlier struck down the entire process, leading to widespread protests from affected teachers.
Responding to the development, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee met with several impacted teachers and strongly criticised the court’s decision. Calling it a “conspiracy” to undermine the state’s education system, she said, “Many of these teachers are gold medalists… you are calling them incompetent, who gave you this right? Who is playing this game?”
