BJP Launches Legal Support Platform for Candidates Affected by the Alleged Teacher Recruitment Scam in Bengal

BJP Bengal unit on Thursday launched a legal support website and helpline number to assist those candidates who have been affected by the alleged teachers recruitment scam. This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's had promised to create a legal cell to aid "genuine" candidates affected by the purported scam. The website is 'bjplegalsupport.org', and the helpline number is 9150056618.

“Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has directed that Bharatiya Janata Party will extend full cooperation and legal assistance to the 25,753 candidates appointed in the School Service Commission 2016 panel who got jobs on the basis of merit. Mamata Banerjee sacrificed qualified meritorious tenured teachers and non-teaching staff to save the unqualified. If SSC divides between eligible and ineligible and publishes the numbers based on correct data, the eligible would not have to suffer this today,” said BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari taking to “X”.

A per reports, the helpline has been created by the saffron party to provide assistance to those affected by the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) recruitment process, which the Calcutta High Court declared "null and void" on April 22. This decision led to the cancellation of approximately 26,000 appointments made through the process. However, the Supreme Court in its recent ruling has stayed the annulment process for the time being. In addition, the apex court allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation to continue its investigation into the matter, even permitting scrutiny of members of the state cabinet. However, the court instructed the agency not to take precipitate actions such as arrests without due process.

Prime Minister Modi, during recent election rallies in the stated had directed the West Bengal BJP to address grievances arising from the scam and assured support to genuine candidates. In response to Modi's directive, the BJP swiftly established the legal support mechanism to cater to the needs of the “affected individuals.” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of orchestrating the conspiracy to snatch away the school jobs but appreciated the Supreme Court's intervention in staying the Calcutta High Court's order.