Bengal recruitment scam case: Parallel protests by both ‘genuine’ and ‘tainted’ candidates start

Kolkata, April 24 (IANS) Protests and demonstrations over the loss of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs in the state-run schools of West Bengal following a Supreme Court order earlier this month had taken a more complicated turn from Thursday, as the so-called “tainted” candidates too started parallel sit-in protests in front of West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) office, besides that by the “genuine” ones which had already started earlier this week.

On one hand, the “genuine” candidates are protesting in demand of the immediate publication of the segregated lists of “genuine” and “tainted” candidates.

On the other hand the contention of the other group is that their names have been included in the “tainted” list because of some technical errors in their optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets.

Although the large police contingent present in front of the WBSSC office separated the two groups of protestors by raising barricades in between them, there were frequent quarrels and heated exchange of words between the members of the two groups.

The members from the “genuine” group of protesters said that besides the publication of segregated lists of “genuine” and “tainted” candidates their demand is also that the salaries of the “tainted” candidates should be stopped immediately and that already received by them should be returned to the state exchequer as was ordered by the Supreme Court.

“Our agitation will continue unless all these demands are met. We will not allow protection of ‘tainted’ candidates at any cost,” said a member from the “genuine” group.

The “genuine” candidates also questioned how the police allowed the “tainted” candidates to organise a sit-in-demonstration just 500 meters away from the spot when the “genuine” group had assembled.

“Who will take the responsibility in case there is an unpleasant incident over two parallel and adjacent demonstrations,” asked a genuine candidate.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court division bench of the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld the order of the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi last year cancelling WBSSC’s entire panel for 2016 of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs.

The apex court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel had to be cancelled because of the failure on part of the state government and WBSSC to segregate the “genuine” candidates from the “tainted” ones, who got jobs paying money.

–IANS

src/khz