Madrasa teachers’ demand for recognition, proper pay: After CM Mamata Banerjaa says govt can’t pay, her minister asks, ‘why should we’

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Over 50 madrasa teachers from across the state have been staging a hunger strike since October 1 over their demand for the state’s recognition to madrasas and salaries at par with teachers of government-aided schools. The chief minister has offered that her government “can recognise the madrasas but would not be able to pay any money to the teachers”. This has been rejected by the protesters who have since asked “the point of recognition” if they were not paid.

Both Congress and CPM leaders had Monday met the teachers at the protest venue and criticised the CM for her “silence” on the protesters’ demand to recognise 495 madhyamik and sishu shiksha kendras in the state.

Hakim, while taking a dig at the opposition leaders, said that their visit was for “photo opportunities”. “The Congress leaders have lost relevance and only want to stay in the news and that is why they are creating such photo opportunities,” he said.

“As far as the CPM leaders are concerned,” Hakim added, “they should be ashamed because it is the legacy of their debt burden that we are carrying today.”

Earlier in the day, Md Qamruzzaman, general secretary of All Bengal Minority Youth Federation, accused the CM of not keeping the promises she had made before coming to power. “We understand that the financial position of the state is not well but it seems that the CM’s priority is to pay money to the clubs instead of meeting the needs of madrasa teachers,” he said at an event, and added that the federation would launch a new protest programme from November 1 if their demands were not met. “This should send the message to the CM that her government cannot underestimate the power of minority votes, which the previous (Left) government did resulting in its downfall,” Qamruzzaman said.
TMC MP Ahmed Hassan Imran and Muslim leader Qari Fazlur Rehman who were expected to attend the event reportedly opted out of it at the last moment. “I was never formally invited. Given the issue, I would anyway like to stay away from it,” Imran said.