Bengal Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee's response to the Calcutta High Court's order to cut the jobs of 26,000 teachers was a resounding election message. “Not a single vote for the BJP, the CPM or the Congress, not from teachers, not from any government official,” the Prime Minister thundered today.
The BJP, she added, has bought the court – the Supreme Court, not the Supreme Court, she hastened to clarify, “I still hope for justice from the Supreme Court.”
Then she expanded it. “They (the BJP) have bought the Supreme Court. They bought the CBI. They bought the NIA. They bought the BSF. They bought the CAPF. They have changed the color of Doordarshan saffron – they will only talk about the BJP and Modi ka baat. Don't look at it,” Ms. Banerjee said.
Earlier this week, the Calcutta High Court canceled the 2016 recruitment process for government-sponsored and aided schools, saying some candidates had bribed to get jobs. Several Trinamool leaders, including former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, and former officials are in jail in connection with the teacher recruitment case.
But this move instantly left 26,000 teachers unemployed. They were asked to pay back their salaries with 12% interest. The state has challenged the order in the Supreme Court.
The court order could be a gamechanger in the state where the BJP, which won 18 of the state's 42 seats in 2019, hopes to expand its footprint. Mamata Banerjee's party – hot on the heels of the Sandeshkhali row – expects to reap the benefits of the public anger.
Kolkata has already seen major protests against the court order to annul all appointments. The protesters have argued that for a few who have indulged in corruption, thousands of innocent teachers, their families and students are suffering.