West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday welcomed the Calcutta High Court division bench’s decision to set aside a single bench order that had annulled the appointments of 32,000 primary school teachers in the state.
"We are happy with the court's order. It is a great relief that the jobs of these teachers are saved...We want to generate jobs and not take them away," she told reporters here.
The teachers were recruited through the Teachers’ Eligibility Test of 2014. The division bench, presided by Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty, observed that irregularities had not been established in all the recruitments and therefore declined to uphold the earlier order that scrapped their appointments.
The court also noted that terminating their employment after nine years would have an adverse impact on the teachers and their families.
Education minister Bratya Basu on Wednesday said truth has prevailed, as their jobs remained “safe and secure”.
In a post on X, Basu also congratulated the West Bengal Primary Education Board.
“The jobs of 32,000 primary school teachers remain fully secure. My best wishes to the teachers. Truth has triumphed,” the minister said.
Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh in a post on X, said the recruitment of 32,000 primary teachers had been upheld and claimed that a conspiracy by political forces to snatch away jobs had been exposed.
“Those lawyers, leaders and the vultures involved should apologise publicly. If there were any irregularities in specific cases, let there be an investigation and action. But for that, everyone’s job cannot be taken away — let people recognise the political traders who played with others’ tears,” he said.
“The role of the person who, while sitting in the judge’s chair, created a political issue and later became an MP should also come under investigation. Because he created the issue unfairly while being a judge, then resigned, joined the BJP and did politics over the same issue,” he added.
He termed it an unfortunate precedent for the judiciary and said the court should take up a suo motu case on moral grounds and conduct an investigation.