Bengal school jobs fiasco: Joint platform calls for 'March to Secretariat' on April 21

Kolkata, April 5 (IANS) A joint platform of both 'genuine' teaching and non-teaching staff losing school jobs following the recent order of the Supreme Court and the candidates who were deprived of jobs illegally to accommodate tainted ones paying money have announced that they will be organising a “march to state secretariat” agitation on April 21, unless the state government takes definite initiative in solving the problems of individuals belonging to both the categories.

At a hurriedly convened press conference on Saturday afternoon, the leaders of the joint platform christened “Chakriprarthi o Chakrahara Oikya Mancha" (Joint Platform of Jobseekers and Job-losers) claimed that they want an appointment with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by April 15, which is Bengali New Year’s Day at the state secretariat Nabanna to discuss the surfacing fiasco following the Supreme Court order.

In case, they added, no confirmation about that meeting with the Chief Minister at the state secretariat is foreseen they will be conducting a ‘March to secretariat’ rally to the state secretariat on April 21.

"We do not want empty promises anymore. So we are insisting on a meeting with the Chief Minister at the state secretariat by April 15. At that meeting we would like to discuss with the state government what can be done about the surfacing uncertainties in the matter,” said a leader of the joint platform.

However, it is yet to be clear whether the said joint platform is holding any affiliation or receiving the backing of any political party or not.

Their main grievance was that the uncertainties in the lives of both “genuine jobholders” and “deprived candidates” have surfaced because of the inability of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to segregate the “tainted” individuals getting jobs by paying money from the “genuine” ones.

On Thursday, the apex court’s division bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld an earlier order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi cancelling a total of 25,753 appointments made by WBSSC in its panel for 2016.

The apex court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel had to be cancelled since the commission or the state government failed to segregate the genuine candidates from those ineligible ones getting jobs paying money.

--IANS

src/pgh