Mamata Banerjee backs Bengal teachers who lost jobs, says she has plans to accommodate them

Speaking at a meeting with the job losers in Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium, Mamata announced a review petition has been filed in the top court seeking a reconsideration of the rule that has placed the Trinamool Congress government under massive criticism.

"Do not think that I have accepted the verdict. We are not stone-hearted. I may be jailed for saying this but I don't care. I can't shy away from supporting people in their tough times," she said.

Mamata on Monday said if the court does not reconsider its rule then she has multiple plans to explore to ensure the deserving candidates do not lose their jobs.

"There are two parts, one is the deserving set of candidates and the other is undeserving. If the Supreme Court verdict on the petition seeking reconsideration is favourable, it's fine. If it's not, then I have plans to accommodate all deserving candidates. I assure them that they won't suffer," the Chief Minister said.

"In the meantime, I would appeal to all to continue their service. Remember, no one can stop you from giving voluntary service. If you battle out the situation for two months, you won't suffer in the long run," she added.

Countering Mamata, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the Chief Minister must present the list of deserving candidates in the Supreme Court.

Speaking outside the legislative assembly, Adhikari said, "Today, she has targeted the Chief Justice of India. To protect the deserving, you were given three years' time. You didn't, so you are guilty."

"The government still has a chance... I welcome the revision petition. As the LoP, I appeal to the CM to reveal the list of deserving candidates so that the demarcation between the deserving and undeserving candidates gets clear," he added.

Adhikari alleged Mamata's nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was the "biggest beneficiary" in the jobs scam. "If Mamata Banerjee can't present the list of deserving candidates, I would appeal to all to vote for the BJP in 2026 (assembly elections) and will deliver justice by producing the OMR sheets. They (TMC government) can't give because money is involved..."

"Her (Mamata Banerjee's) nephew Abhishek Banerjee is the biggest beneficiary in this case and this has been claimed by Sujoy Krishna Bhadra (who was arrested in the SSC scam) in the CBI chargesheet," he said.

In a massive judgement, the Supreme Court last week cancelled appointments of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff by the School Service Commission (SSC) upholding the Calcutta High Court's order.

The top court passed the order after the SSC failed to provide two separate lists of deserving and undeserving candidates after the government faced corruption allegations in the recruitment process.

A top court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said the selection process was "vitiated and tainted by fraud".

In April 2024, the Calcutta High Court had cancelled recruitment of nearly 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in government-sponsored and government-aided schools, dismissing the entire 2016 teacher recruitment panel.

The panel was constituted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

Erstwhile state education minister Partha Chatterjee, former primary education board president and Trinamool MLA Manik Bhattacharya, youth leader Kuntal Ghosh are among the people who were arrested so far in connection with the scam.

Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Ganguly, who is now contesting the Lok Sabha elections on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process.