Bengal Job Scam: 'Cannot Accept This Judgment Personally', Says CM Mamata Banerjee As Nearly 26,000 Teachers Lose Job

Following the Supreme Court's order invalidating the appointment of 26,000 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to accept the Supreme Court judgment personally. The top court ruled the selection process of these candidates were "vitiated and tainted".

"As a citizen of this country, I have every right, and I cannot accept this judgment, with due respect to the judges. I am expressing my opinion from a humanitarian perspective. Don't misinform or create confusion," she told the media this afternoon.

However, the chief minister said that the Bengal government accepts the ruling and has already asked the School Service Commission to repeat the recruitment process.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict dated April 22, 2024, annulling the appointments.

BJP Seeks Mamata's Resignation

In view of the SC verdict, BJP on Thursday demanded the resignation of CM Banerjee for the "plight" of the people whose were invalidated by the Supreme Court.

"The sole responsibility for this massive corruption in teacher recruitment lies with the failed Chief Minister of the state, @MamataOfficial. The Supreme Court's verdict has made it clear how, under Mamata Banerjee's rule, the merit of educated unemployed youth in West Bengal was sold in exchange for money!" state BJP president and Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said in a post on X.

He demanded that Banerjee should take full responsibility of this "huge corruption" and resign from the post of the chief minister.

"No more forgiveness," he added.

About The School Job Scam In Bengal

For months, hundreds of teachers, who had qualified the 2016 recruitment examinations conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), had been staging a sit-in in Kolkata requesting that the merits of their cases be considered and validated by the judiciary while giving the judgement.

Former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided primary schools. He and his alleged associate, Arpita Mukherjee, were detained by the ED as part of its investigation into the money trail linked to the illegal recruitments.

In December 2024, the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in a money laundering case linked to the cash-for-job scam.