“Unfair and injustice…”: Rahul Gandhi Urges President's Intervention Over Dismissal of Bengal SSC Teachers

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Tuesday sought the intervention of President Draupadi Murmu into the case of thousands of qualified school teachers in West Bengal who have lost their jobs due to the cancellation of the teacher recruitment process under WBSSC following a Supreme Court judgment that upheld the Calcutta High Court’s verdict in this matter. In his letter addressed to the President, Gandhi stated that the teachers as well as the staff who stand terminated have “almost given up hope of any redressal”, and urged her to ensure that the candidates selected through fair means are allowed to retain their jobs.

“Both judgements found that some candidates were untainted' - selected through fair means, and some 'tainted' - selected through unfair means. Both tainted and untainted teachers have lost their jobs. Any crime committed during recruitment should be condemned, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice. However, treating teachers selected through fair means on par with tainted teachers is a serious injustice,” wrote Gandhi in his letter. Rahul Gandhi was apprised on the matter by the Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha, a platform for affected teachers.

Additionally, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition stated that the “arbitrary termination will destroy” the “morale and motivation” of the untainted teachers who have been affected because of the apex court’s verdict. “Most 'untainted' teachers have served for nearly a decade. Terminating them will force lakhs of students into classrooms without adequate teachers. Their arbitrary termination will destroy their morale and motivation to serve, and deprive their families of what is often the sole source of income,” said Rahul Gandhi.

Concluding his letter, Rahul Gandhi requested the President, who herself served as a teacher, to consider the cause of the teachers “favourably” and urge the government to intervene in the matter to ensure that candidates selected through fair means are allowed to continue.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on April 3 upheld the Calcutta High Court's decision, citing widespread fraud and manipulation in the recruitment process. The Apex Court echoed the High Court's findings that the selection process was “irrepairably tainted.” The bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, deemed the process “marred by large-scale fraud and manipulation,” saying it had been “compromised at every stage.”

In the meantime, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has vowed to stand by the teachers who have been terminated following the apex court’s judgment. "We are not stone-hearted... I can even be jailed for saying this, but I don’t care," she added, addressing the terminated staff at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium. Banerjee made it clear that she was prepared to face any legal consequences in her efforts to stand by the victims.​