Opposition parties hit the streets Friday to protest the police action while removing primary teachers’ job applicants from their agitation site here, shouting we don’t want this government. A strong police contingent had removed the protesters, who claimed to have qualified the 2014 Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) exams but were still omitted from the merit list, after 84 hours of sit-in from near the head office of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education in Salt Lake area here on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. The police had dispersed them, saying section 144 of the CrPC had been imposed in the area. Shila Das, a protestor had alleged, “We were manhandled by the cops who dragged us away and dumped us in three waiting vehicles. Even women were physically abused.” A police officer said as the agitators refused to move away from the spot despite repeated appeals, minimum force was used to remove them from the site around 12.35 am.
Leaders of DYFI, youth wing of the CPI(M), Meenakshi Mukherjee, and Kalatan Dasgupta were among 10 activists detained by the police for obstructing traffic by staging road blockade and violating prohibitory orders in Karunamoyee area of Salt Lake. Members of the BJP also took out a protest rally in central Kolkata. About 300 party members, led by BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul, walked from the state headquarters of the party to the Esplanade crossing, both in central Kolkata, to express solidarity with the teaching job aspirants to state-run and state-aided primary schools. Paul and others sat on the road while some of her party members scuffled with the police and tried to overturn the guard rail. “We intended to go to Mayo Road to organise sit-in before Gandhi statue, but this police force, which is nothing but a slave of the ruling Trinamool Congress, did not allow us to do so. They cannot crush our democratic protest against police brutality on educated job seekers,” the BJP leader said. WBPCC chief and Baharampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury led a protest from the state party office, Bidhan Bhavan, to another sit-in protest site of 2014, 2016, 2017 TET qualified candidates . Choudhury, who met the agitating candidates near the statue of freedom fighter Matangini Hazra in central Kolkata, said the “the inefficient, and corrupt TMC regime has taken away the right to livelihood of thousands of qualified youth and handed over their jobs to ineligible candidates. “And when the candidates sit for democratic protest, they are abused and physically lifted by the police. Every right thinking person should protest against this.” CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty went to Bidhannagar North police station where the detained DYFI leaders were taken.
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“A former education minister is in jail in connection with the teaching job scam. His trusted people who helmed the Secondary Board and Primary Board are also behind bars. And the current Education minister is showing his autocratic attitude by not listening to the just demands of the TET 2014 candidates. It seems this government is shameless,” he said. The police also detained demonstrators of ABVP, RSS’ students wing, who held protests at Karunamoyee crossing. TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said “the opposition is trying to foment trouble in peaceful West Bengal. They are instigating protestors and jeopardising the process of recruitment in primary, upper primary levels which has been initiated by the government in a transparent manner.
He alleged none of the opposition parties want the qualified TET candidates get jobs and are intent on prolonging the impasse. The protesters had turned down the requests of state Education minister Bratya Basu and president of West Bengal Board of Primary Education Goutam Pal to withdraw the agitation and sit for a fresh test and interview. How can we take candidates from outside the panel merit list? The board will not be in a position to accede to such pleas, Pal had said.
About reports that eligible TET candidates were deprived of jobs while undeserving ones were chosen during the tenure of his predecessors, Pal had said, The matter is being investigated and as per the directive of the (Calcutta) high court, several candidates have already been recruited. Basu had said, We are ensuring transparency and fairness in the recruitment process. I urge the agitators to have faith in us and withdraw the sit-in, which is disrupting the functioning of the Board.
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