"Serious Injustice": Rahul Gandhi Writes To President On Bengal Teachers' Job Row
Kolkata, West Bengal: After the Supreme Court upheld Calcutta High Court verdict canceling the appointments of 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff recently, several political leaders have flagged concerns of the qualified school teachers being left out by the order. Reacting to the development, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he had written to President Droupadi Murmu seeking intervention in the matter.
The Congress leader pointed out that thousands of qualified school teachers have lost their jobs following the judiciary’s cancelation of the teacher recruitment process. “I have requested her to urge the government to take necessary steps to ensure that candidates who were selected through fair means are allowed to continue,” the Rai Bareilly MP wrote in a social media post.
Read Also: “They Fear Bengal’s Talent”: Mamata Banerjee Vows Legal Fight After Top Court Sacks Teachers
The Calcutta High Court order had found serious irregularities in the teacher recruitment, declaring it null and void. The Supreme Court on April 3 upheld the high court’s order, leaving qualified teachers in dismay.
In his letter to the president, the Congress leader pointed out that both tainted and non-tainted candidates have lost their jobs, highlighting that treating teachers who were selected through fair means is a “serious injustice.”
“Terminating them will force lakh 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 income,” the Congress leader’s letter noted.
I have written to the Honourable President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu ji, seeking her kind intervention in the matter of thousands of qualified school teachers in West Bengal who have lost their jobs following the judiciary’s cancellation of the teacher recruitment process.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 8, 2025
In its order, the top court said that the “non-tainted” candidates will have the right to apply to their previous departments or autonomous bodies to continue in service with those entities. It is reported that the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) will seek legal advice on the eligibility of candidates who can take fresh tests.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has also come out against the cancelation of the teachers’ appointment, while noting that court did not cancel the whole examination when the All-India medical entrance exam NEET was mired in controversies.
Read Also: “Mentally Relaxed”: Mamata After SC Stays HC’s Order On Teachers’ Appointment
The chief minister also asked the court to clarify who is deserving and who is not, demanding the list. The TMC leader further alleged that West Bengal is being targeted. “No one has the right to break the education system. In the Vyapam case in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, so many people were killed. They have not got justice till today. In NEET, many allegations surfaced. The Supreme Court did not cancel the examination. “Why is Bengal being targeted? We want to know. You are scared of Bengal’s talent,” the chief minister stated.
Last year, the Supreme Court paused the Calcutta High Court order, which had cancelled over 25,000 jobs appointed by the state’s School Service Commission (SSC) in the state-run and state-aided schools, asking to return their salaries with interest. Although the top court gave relief from the invalidation of the recruitment the top court had called the alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal a ‘systematic fraud’ during the last week’s hearing. It also raised the concerns of the public faith in the systems and the government functions.
