Kolkata, April 7: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday pledged full support to thousands of teachers and school staff whose appointments were annulled by the Supreme Court, promising that no eligible candidate would remain jobless or face service disruption.
Addressing a massive gathering of affected candidates at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium, Banerjee urged them to return to their schools and “voluntarily resume duties.” The state government, she said, is working to protect their jobs following the apex court’s April 3 verdict, which struck down 25,753 appointments made through the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment, calling the process “vitiated and tainted.”
“You are still in service since no termination letters have been issued. Our government is duty-bound to ensure that no deserving candidate loses their job,” Banerjee said. “We already have plans in place to make sure there’s no break in service.”
The chief minister also announced that the state would file a review petition and seek clarifications from the Supreme Court on the ruling. Meanwhile, she outlined a two-phase strategy to address the fallout.
“In the first phase, we will identify and reinstate the deserving candidates. In the second, we’ll examine the cases of those declared tainted. We want to understand the basis on which they were found undeserving and how the investigations were conducted,” she said, adding that she would hold a separate meeting with them.
Banerjee urged unity among the affected, saying, “There should be no face-off between deserving and so-called tainted candidates. Please trust the government to do its job.”
Expressing personal commitment, Banerjee told the gathering, “I will stand by those who lost their jobs. I don’t care what others think. I’m even ready to go to jail if that’s the price of standing with you.”
While affirming that her administration respects the Supreme Court’s decision, Banerjee said the situation was being handled with “utmost care and fairness.”
