The candidates were seen assembling in Kolkata and they were in tears after the verdict.
A SSC candidate said, “This is due to the impact of corruption. The responsibility lies on both the state and central government. We have become victims of the situation,” a SSC candidate said.
“We have lost our livelihood. Who is take responsibility? The state government is responsible for it,” another SSC candidate said.
Soma Das, who is a cancer patient, whose job has been retained by HC and now SC due to her illness, said “There are many eligible candidates but they will also lose their jobs. They will lose their jobs and families will face trouble. They will have to reappear for the examination. In earlier hearings in Calcutta High Court also, it was asked if segregation is possible or not. But SSC failed to give any concrete reply. Most of the schools have no teachers. If the panel is cancelled, the schools will be empty.”
Pratap Roy Chowdhury, another SSC teacher and candidate, said, “My mother and wife are dependent on me. What will I do, I have no idea about the future.”Meanwhile, all the political parties have attacked the ruling Trinamool over corruption and job loss of 26,000 candidates, which include both ‘genuine and eligible’ and ‘ineligible’. BJP Bengal unit has decided to hit the roads chalking out a major protest programme against the ruling Trinamool Congress, and job loss of the eligible candidates.“The Supreme Court’s verdict has come today and 25753 teachers have lost their jobs, which include ‘eligible’ and ‘ineligible’ canddidates. They have their families. The candidates, who were eligible, and their families are in dire situations as Mamata Banerjee has sacrificed all for the corrupt andfor those candidates who have paid money to her party. Banerjee tried to save the jobs of ineligible candidates who got jobs by paying money to Trinamool Congress. Why did Mamata Banerjee government did not do segregation of eligible and ineligible candidates as asked by apex court? For corrupt Trinamool leaders, so many eligible candidates have lost their jobs today,” BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar, who is also junior MoS of Education, said.
Majumdar held Trinamool Congress and party Supremo Mamata Banerjee for the whole chaotic situation. “Had the segregation been done by the state government, so these eligible candidates and their families would not have helpless due to job loss,” Majumdar added.
“We will start protest with full force against this after Ram Navami. We will oust this corrupt government from its chair,” Majumdar said.
CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “The state government got two years to do segregation between eligible and ineligible candidates. The genuine candidates lost the jobs due to inefficiency of the West Bengal government. The government stood for ineligible candidates. What will happen to the candidates? They have been asked to pay back their salaries.”
Soumay Aich Roy, spokesperson of Congress, said “It is not a mere small corruption involving meagre amount. No one will believe it. People from the villages and remote areas have paid huge amount of money by selling their land to pay for the jobs. Mamata Banerjee- you came to know nothing? It is not possible. This is systematic corruption and sitting in the cabinet next to her minister Partha Chatterjee, the Chief Minister failed to know anything about…it is completely unbelievable.”
Trinamool MP Dola Sen said, “We have full respect with the apex court’s judgement. We have sympathy for the candidates who have lost their jobs. Our leadership will decide the future course of action.”
Major uncertainty lies over Higher Secondary paper checking in Bengal as well. Higher Secondary Board chief Chiranjib Bhattacharya said, “We have heard the verdict. We have to take feedback from various stakeholders and we will study the impact on the exact.”
Out of the cancelled panel, there are approximately 5,500 teachers who might be engaged in Class XII paper checking, sources said.
