Hunger Strike by Job Losers Protests in Front of WBSSC
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Synopsis
A group of job losers from state-run schools in West Bengal is holding a hunger strike outside the WBSSC office in Kolkata. They demand the segregation of genuine candidates from those associated with corruption, following a Supreme Court ruling. Solidarity from civil society and political figures is also evident as protests continue.
Key Takeaways
- Hunger strike initiated by school job losers in Kolkata.
- Protesters demand segregation of genuine candidates.
- Supreme Court supports annulment of job panel.
- Call for civil society support echoes past protests.
- Planned protest march scheduled for Thursday.
Kolkata, April 10 (NationPress) A hunger strike has commenced in front of the West Bengal School Service Commission office at Salt Lake in Kolkata, involving a group of job losers, which includes both teaching and non-teaching personnel from state-run schools.
The demonstrators are urging that the state government and the commission distinguish between the “genuine” candidates and those who obtained their positions through corrupt means.
Importantly, the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed a prior ruling from a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, which annulled the complete list of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching positions, citing the failure of the state government and the commission to separate the “genuine” candidates from the “tainted” ones.
The protesters have also called upon civil society to show support for their hunger strike, reminiscent of the solidarity displayed during last year’s hunger strike by junior doctors protesting the heinous crime against a female colleague at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Before initiating the strike on Wednesday afternoon, protester Suman Biswas stated: "We will persist with our hunger strike until the segregation is completed and the mirror images of the OMR sheets for all candidates are publicly disclosed. If the state government is earnest about safeguarding the rights of the ‘genuine’ candidates, they must expedite the segregation process."
Numerous BJP figures, including Lok Sabha member and former Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Gangopahyay, along with actors-turned-politicians Rupa Ganguly and Rudranil Ghosh, have visited the hunger-strike venue to show their support.
The “genuine” job losers also plan to organize a protest march in Kolkata on Thursday regarding this matter.
"I urge the general public and members of civil society to participate in the protest rally in large numbers," remarked one of the demonstrators.
