Protest over alleged irregularities in recruitment of schoolteachers reached the chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s public rally in Asansol on Tuesday prompting her to accuse the CPM and the BJP of creating an imbroglio.

“I am ready to give 17,000 fresh jobs but the recruitment is stalled by the court and I am bound to obey it. You ask the CPM and BJP leaders who are behind the stalemate,” Mamata told the rally while reminding protesters that it was not her government but the two political parties who had moved Calcutta High Court against the recruitment process.

Mamata was reacting to the agitation by four job aspirants who claimed to have qualified the State Level Selection Test (SLST) for upper-primary schoolteachers but did not get jobs. The four women from Murshidabad and East Burdwan reached Mamata’s public rally on Asansol’s Polo Ground and started demonstrating during the middle of her speech and waving handwritten placards.

As soon as the four protesters stood up with placards to draw the CM’s attention in the middle of her speech, police personnel swiftly took them out of the venue.

A similar incident had happened during a government event addressed by Mamata in Burdwan on Monday.

“I already said whatever I have to say yesterday. I will not say anything today about it. It is the drama of the BJP and CPM. You go and ask them about the situation. I have nothing to do as you (the parties) have moved court,” said Mamata.

Mamata was in Asansol on Tuesday to address a rally to thank to the residents here for the historic victory of Trinamul candidate Shatrughan Sinha in the Asansol Lok Sabha bypoll.

The chief minister advised them to go to CPM Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who has been leading the legal battle in high court on behalf of those who have been allegedly deprived of jobs.

“Go and tell CPM lawyer Bikash Babu you have stopped appointments by filing court cases, now you have to arrange jobs for them. I can’t do anything unless I am allowed by court,” she said.

She said it had become a trend now to disturb her meetings with the BJP and the CPM instigating such incidents. She also accused the media for going big on the controversy.

Reacting to the chief minister’s attack, Bhattacharya accused Mamata of being aware of the fact that over 17,000 people have been illegally appointed as teachers during her regime.

“Those who have been deprived of legitimate appointments moved court and I have put up their case as my moral duty. The fight will continue and those who are guilty, including the chief minister, will be punished,” said Bhattacharya. He added that if litigants want him to lead a march to Nabanna he was ready to do that.

Accusing Mamata of making false statements to misguide people, CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty said: “The court has never stopped recruitment rather asked the government to give jobs to those who deserve it. The court has asked the government to dismiss those who got appointed because of corruption. The chief minister is making false statements to misguide people to hide the corruption of her ministers and party men (colleagues).”

A protester later said: “We have been demonstrating under Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Calcutta for the past 471 days. We wanted to meet Didi to discuss our plight. We all have qualified SLST but are yet to get jobs.”

The protests on two subsequent days in Burdwan and Asansol raised questions about security at events addressed by the chief minister. A source in the district administration said Mamata was annoyed and expressed her discontent to the police.

The source added that the police had begun a probe into how the four protesters reached the venue with placards and managed to come close to the dais.

"We were additionally alert after the incident in Burdwan yesterday where some women demonstrated at the rally of the chief minister. We are surprised how they entered the rally," said a police officer in Asansol.