Teacher recruitment scam: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee must resign, she will go to jail, says BJP

NEW DELHI: The BJP launched a scathing attack on West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of overseeing large-scale corruption in the state’s school recruitment process. In a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra held Mamata Banerjee personally responsible for the alleged fraud and promised that if the BJP came to power in West Bengal, she would face legal consequences.Patra declared, “Didi jail jayengi, albat jayengi. Hindustan mai kanoon ka shasan hai. The day BJP forms a government in Bengal, the full force of the law will be brought upon Mamata Banerjee.”The remarks came a day after the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta high court’s decision to annul the appointments of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in the state, due to significant irregularities in the recruitment process.Patra accused Mamata Banerjee’s government of institutionalising corruption and obstructing investigations into the recruitment scam. He remarked, “A few days ago, Mamata Banerjee went to Oxford and called herself a tigress. But no tigress engages in corruption. The way her government has allowed corruption to thrive in Bengal, lakhs of people have suffered.”He pointed to the Supreme Court’s verdict, which confirmed that the recruitment process carried out by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) was marred by manipulation and fraud, causing the entire selection process to lose credibility.“The Supreme Court said that the credibility and legitimacy of the recruitment process had been completely compromised under Mamata Banerjee’s governance,” Patra stated.The SSC recruitment scam, which involved the manipulation of job appointments for over 25,000 teachers and staff in 2016, has become one of the biggest corruption scandals in West Bengal. The Calcutta high court had ruled that the recruitment process was tainted by bribery and tampering with OMR sheets. The court had also called for a CBI investigation into the matter.Patra criticised the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for allegedly obstructing the investigation, claiming that Mamata Banerjee and her party leaders had targeted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to shield those involved in the scam.“The CBI probe was blocked by Mamata Banerjee and her party leaders, and they attempted to cover up the truth,” Patra alleged.On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta high court’s April 2024 decision to cancel the recruitment of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff due to irregularities in the selection process. The court ruled that the entire process had been tainted by widespread fraud and manipulation, resulting in the invalidation of the appointments.The Supreme Court noted that the candidates appointed through fraudulent means had to be terminated and ordered them to refund any payments or salaries they had received. “Since their appointments were the result of fraud, this amounts to cheating,” the Court stated in its judgment.However, the court clarified that “untainted” candidates, who had been wrongly affected by the fraud, would not have to refund any payments made to them and could reapply for positions in their respective departments.Patra also questioned the silence of opposition leaders, particularly those from the Congress and the INDI Alliance, over the scandal. “Had similar allegations been made against any NDA chief minister, Rahul Gandhi would have raised a storm in Parliament, calling it the 'murder of democracy.’ Where is he now? Where are the INDI Alliance leaders?” he asked.The BJP has vowed to continue pressing for accountability on the SSC recruitment issue, using it as a key political weapon in their battle against Mamata Banerjee’s government.(With agency inputs)