Are Questions Emerging Over Mamata Banerjee’s Fresh Recruitment Announcement?

Kolkata, May 28 (NationPress) Following the announcement by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding the release of a notification for new teaching and non-teaching positions on May 30, along with requirements for the “untainted” teachers—those who lost their jobs due to a Supreme Court ruling last month—to take a written examination, numerous questions and uncertainties have started to arise surrounding her statement.

The simultaneous nature of the Chief Minister's declaration about the new recruitment process and the state government's effort to file a review petition concerning the Supreme Court ruling has sparked worries.

Concerns are being raised about whether the state government and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) have presented separate lists of “untainted” and “tainted” candidates in conjunction with their review petitions.

Opposition parties and legal experts have pointed out that the failure of the state government and the commission to provide these segregated lists was the primary reason behind both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court's decision to annul the entire panel of 25,753 jobs. Thus, any review petition lacking these lists raises doubts about the state government's commitment to safeguarding the positions of “untainted” teachers.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has already challenged the Chief Minister to clarify publicly whether the segregated lists were included in the review petition.

“The Chief Minister appears overly confident regarding the review petition's outcome. She should clarify whether the segregated lists were submitted alongside the review petitions. Otherwise, it may become evident that the state is merely engaging in a delaying tactic while presenting the review petition,” Adhikari stated.

Another significant question arising from the Chief Minister’s statements on Tuesday is her emphasis on the segment of the Supreme Court ruling that pertains to new recruitment, while seemingly neglecting the part that outlines the government's obligations to terminate the services of “tainted” individuals and recover any salaries they received.

“How can the state government adhere to one aspect of the apex court's ruling while disregarding another? Additionally, the Chief Minister stated her intention to protect even those jobs not categorized as ‘untainted.’ Does this not suggest potential corruption?” questioned senior advocate and CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya.

He further scrutinized the legal validity of the Chief Minister’s assertions that the fresh recruitment and the state government's pursuit of the review petition would occur concurrently.

“The essential question is whether there is any room for review once the fresh recruitment process is initiated as per the apex court’s ruling. The Chief Minister seems to be using the review petition as a delaying method, offering false hope to ‘untainted’ candidates,” Bhattacharya concluded.