1,000 days since West Bengal job recruitment protest began; Minister to meet protestors

Trinamool Congress leader admits that mistakes had been made by the State government and the issue had been caught up in a legal tangle

Left Front Chairman Biman Basu along with Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) leaders and supporters stage a protest rally against the West Bengal Government demanding teacher employment for those who cleared the State-level Selection Test but did not get a job due to the alleged recruitment scam, on the 1000th day of the demonstration in Kolkata on December 9, 2023 | Photo Credit: ANI

Protests by a section of job aspirants affected by the recruitment scam in West Bengal reached its 1,000th day on Saturday, with leaders from Opposition parties joining in.

One of the women protestors publicly tonsured her head, triggering outrage in political circles. Senior leaders of the Left parties, including Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Polit Bureau member Biman Basu, hit the streets. Mr. Basu said it was matter of shame that a woman had to tonsure her head. The BJP leadership also held rallies in support of protesting job aspirants.

Candidates who had qualified in the teacher recruitment examination of 2016-17 had been holding protests for the past 1,000 days in Kolkata’s Esplanade area. Job aspirants burst into tears in front of TV cameras, and when leaders of Opposition parties met them.

During the day, Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Kunal Ghosh met with the protesting candidates. Mr. Ghosh said that the State’s Education Minister Bratya Basu would meet protesting candidates on Monday. The Trinamool leader admitted that certain mistakes had been made by the State government, and the whole issue had become tangled in legal complexities.

“We are ready to make repentance for the sins committed,” Mr. Ghosh said, admitting to the mistakes made by the State government.

The recruitment scam has rocked politics in the State from June 2023, when former State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested after about ₹50 crore cash was seized from the residence of his aide. Several TMC leaders, including MLAs of the ruling party, have been arrested for their alleged complicity in the scam.

Protests have been raging in the State for the past several years over the allegations of corruption in the recruitment scam. Allegations ranging from changing optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets to manipulating the entire examination process have come to the fore.

The Supreme Court has set a time frame of two months for the Central Bureau of Investigation to complete its probe into the recruitment scam. The Calcutta High Court has set up a special Bench to hear the case pertaining to the scam.