Bengal Opposition Highlights Ongoing Hardship for Job Loss Victims After Cabinet Relief

Synopsis

The Supreme Court's ruling on the West Bengal cabinet's relief from a CBI investigation does not mitigate the plight of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff who lost their jobs. Opposition leaders argue that this decision does little to address their ongoing hardships.

Key Takeaways

Supreme Court ruling grants relief to West Bengal cabinet.
Job losses of 25,753 staff remain unaddressed.
Opposition claims misleading promises from the Chief Minister.
CBI investigation into other school job aspects continues.
Legal representatives express mixed reactions to the ruling.

Kolkata, April 8 (NationPress) The Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday, which provided relief to the West Bengal cabinet from a CBI investigation related to the school job scandal, fails to alleviate the suffering of the 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools who were terminated following a decision by the apex court, asserted the opposition parties in the state.

Samik Bhattacharya, a BJP Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal, indicated that while the Chief Minister and her cabinet members may rejoice over the reprieve from the CBI inquiry concerning the establishment of “supernumerary posts”, thousands continue to endure hardship.

“Does this indicate that the suffering ceases for the 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff, whose positions were revoked last week by the Supreme Court? The court explicitly stated that the entire panel had to be annulled due to the state government and West Bengal School Service Commission's failure to distinguish ‘genuine’ candidates from the ‘tainted’ ones. The tainted candidates secured employment through monetary transactions. Despite this ruling, the Chief Minister is deceiving those who lost their jobs by making numerous promises regarding job security,” stated Bhattacharya.

Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, a CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate at the Calcutta High Court, mentioned that the apex court has granted relief to the cabinet from the CBI investigation because it deemed a central agency inquiry into the “wisdom” of the state cabinet's decision to create “supernumerary posts” as unwarranted.

“This was the relief that state cabinet members had been seeking for a considerable period, and they have finally received it. However, the CBI investigation into other aspects of the school job case will persist,” he elaborated.

Kalyan Banerjee, a four-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member and senior advocate at the Calcutta High Court, commented that the apex court has dismissed the alleged “criminality” behind the cabinet's decision.

“However, I feel pity for the BJP and CPI(M) leaders, who until yesterday were asserting that the entire cabinet would soon face incarceration. The apex court's ruling must have been a disappointment for them,” Banerjee remarked.

Earlier today, the Supreme Court invalidated the order initiated by the Calcutta High Court, which had mandated the CBI to investigate the establishment of supernumerary posts in state-run schools. These teaching and non-teaching positions have faced scrutiny since their inception, as they are believed to enable the recruitment of ineligible candidates through illicit means.

With this latest ruling from the apex court, the investigation agency is precluded from examining the legitimacy of the decision that sanctioned the creation of supernumerary posts. The SC clarified that its order does not obstruct the CBI from investigating other facets of the school job scam case as per the Calcutta High Court's ruling.