Midnight crackdown on TET candidates: Intellectuals, Opp parties rally against police action
On Saturday, intellectuals took out a rally from Victoria House in Dharmatala to the Academy of Fine Arts.
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Political leaders at a rally in Kolkata, Saturday. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)Political leaders and Bengali intellectuals on Saturday took to the streets to protest the midnight crackdown on TET-qualified candidates outside the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) office at Karunamoyee in Salt Lake on Friday morning and the imposition of section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
BJP and CPI(M) activists, on the other hand, intensified their protests against the forceful eviction. Late Thursday night, a huge contingent of police removed nearly 500 TET-qualified (2014) candidates — staging a sit-in since Monday afternoon seeking job appointment letters — from the street outside the office of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) as the protesters did not lift their protest despite repeated requests. Most of the candidates were driven away in police vans.
On Saturday, intellectuals took out a rally from Victoria House in Dharmatala to the Academy of Fine Arts. Educationist Pabitra Sarkar, film director Anik Dutta, actors Badsha Maitra, Debdut Ghosh and Sreelekha Mitra, poet Mandakranta Sen, professor Malini Bhattacharya and many other intellectuals participated in the rally. Besides them, leaders like Md Salim and Biman Basu of the CPI(M) and Abdul Mannan of the Congress also participated in the rally without any political banner or slogans.
“They are genuine candidates and have been fighting for their legitimate jobs. Instead of giving them jobs, the government arrested them at midnight. We cannot tolerate this,” said Anik Dutta at the rally. After the police action, actor-director Aparna Sen and many others openly criticised the state government.
On Saturday, writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay also criticised the state government for the police action. “This movement has been going on for so many days. I do not know why the movement continued for so long. The government should have looked into this seriously and at least a minister should have started a dialogue with the protesters. Otherwise, it will have a negative impact on the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the BJP teachers’ cell also held a protest march against the alleged police brutality on TET job seekers. Police allegedly blocked the procession near the medical college when it left for the Gandhi statue. It is alleged that police detained several leaders and party workers, causing tension in the area.
Besides, the BJP youth wing staged a protest near the Kolkata Airport where police baton-charged protesters to disperse them.
Sharply criticising the protests, TMC MP Sougata Roy said, “Some people are trying to exaggerate the whole incident. The government is trying to resolve things and some action was taken owing to the court order. Since the CPI(M) has left with nothing, its leaders are trying to create some space for themselves.”
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