Go back to schools, resume work: CM Mamata Banerjee to teachers

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday appealed to the protesting School Service Commission (SSC) teachers, who had been demonstrating for the past 28 hours, to go back to the schools and resume teaching. She said had she been in Kolkata she would have solved the imbroglio "in a second" and urged the teachers not to bother about "tainted and untainted list".

Meanwhile, the teachers who lost their jobs after a recent Supreme Court order decided to continue their protests after a meeting with SSC chairman Siddhartha Majumdar.

Banerjee urged the teachers to have faith in the state government, saying it will safeguard their salaries. She slammed the opposition for provoking the teachers and held these parties responsible for the loss of jobs of 26,000 SSC teachers.


Urging the teachers not to bother about "tainted" and "untainted" lists, the CM said the matter was for the state and court to sort out. "You have your jobs and are getting salaries," she said. "Why are you sitting in this heat? Please go to the schools. SC had cancelled your jobs and had stopped your salaries. We moved the court. You will get the salaries according to the system," Banerjee said.

WBSSC Protests

Hundreds of teachers had been sitting on the road in sweltering heat, demonstrating in front of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) office in Kolkata's Salt Lake, with the SSC chairman remaining gheraoed. On Monday night, many did not have access to food and toilets. The protesters said they will continue their protest until the SSC resolves the list of eligible and ineligible teachers.

Meanwhile, state education minister Bratya Basu said the government had taken legal advice and acted in accordance with that, even as she urged the teachers not to do anything that weakens the review petition to be filed by the state. "We had demanded a list of tainted and untainted. The education minister promised us, but it was not released," said a protesting teacher, who did not wish to be identified.