Kolkata, April 4 After the Supreme Court cancelled 25,753 school jobs in state-run schools in West Bengal, the BJP said on Friday that the Mamata government did not segregate "tainted" teachers from "genuine" ones to "save" her partymen who have taken money from the job aspirants.
Talking to mediapersons, Union Minister of State for Education & Development of North Eastern Region and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar said: "Had that segregation been done, then the entire panel would not have been cancelled. But the state government refrained from doing so."
"It was not done as the Trinamool Congress leaders who have collected money for arranging jobs for 'ineligible' ones would have been in trouble. Now 'innocent' and 'genuine' ones are suffering because of this approach of the state government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee," he said.
Even after repeated suggestions, the state government refrained from segregation, leaving the court with no other option but to cancel the entire panel, he said.
Calcutta High Court's special division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi ordered cancellation of the entire panel for 2016 of a total of 25,753 appointments made by West Bengal School Service Commission on the grounds that the segregation of the "genuine" candidates from those "tainted" ones who got jobs after paying money.
The state government challenged that order at the Apex Court, which upheld the Calcutta High Court order.
Majumdar's comments come just a day after CM Banerjee accused him of unnecessarily targeting her and holding her responsible for the fiasco.
According to Majumdar, "The fear of going behind bars was evident from the body language of the Chief Minister when she was addressing the media persons on Thursday after the Apex Court verdict was pronounced."
"She claimed that there were attempts to put her behind bars. She blamed everyone, including me, CPI(M) leaders and even the highest court of India. But she never blamed her party workers who collected money for providing jobs," Majumdar said.
Senior party leader Sambit Patra slamming CM Banerjee said that she describes herself as a "tigress", but probably she forgets that "tigress never endorses corruption".
"Once the BJP comes to power in West Bengal, then the full force of law will fall upon Trinamool Congress. Those responsible for making the lives of the people of West Bengal so precarious will not be spared," Patra said.
He also said that the Chief Minister's comments that she is not accepting the verdict of the Apex Court of the country reflect her "dictatorship" and "Taliban-like" attitude.
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