West Bengal assembly session: BJP walks out over school jobs scam

The Calcutta High Court has directed CBI to investigate on whose instruction an application was filed before it by the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (SSC) to secure the jobs of the staff illegally recruited for state government-sponsored and aided educational institutions by creating extra posts.

The CBI is also probing illegal appointments in such schools on earlier orders of the high court.

Holding placards which alleged the involvement of senior TMC leaders and state ministers in the “job racket”, BJP members staged a walkout shouting anti-government slogans as the demand was turned out.

During the hearing of a case related to the scam recently, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court questioned how the Cabinet approved a proposal that illegally increased the number of vacant posts of teachers. The BJP cited Gangopadhyay’s observations on Monday.

BJP MLAs reached the Assembly with posters saying, “Cabineter istofa chai (Cabinet should quit).” They demanded that an adjournment motion should be brought over the issue.

When the Speaker denied to do so, the BJP MLAs started raising slogans. After some time, they walked out of the Assembly. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari later told mediapersons, “This Speaker is useless. We will bring a no-confidence motion against this Speaker in the coming session of the Assembly. A decision in this regard will be taken in the legislative party meeting of the BJP.”

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, “After the indictment of the honourable high court, the complicity of several ministers in the state Cabinet has been confirmed. This government wants ineligible candidates to continue jobs in schools and draw salaries while hundreds of qualified candidates are agitating demanding justice for years. If we cannot discuss the matter in the state legislative Assembly, where should it be deliberated upon? Hence we staged the protest,”
he said.

Reacting to the BJP’s walkout, senior minister Sashi Panja said that the opposition only wants to disrupt the proceedings of
the House.

“They don’t believe in constructive politics. The BJP has no respect for parliamentary democracy,” she added.