WBSSC scam: Agitating candidates refuse to withdraw stir

KOLKATA: The SSC aspirants agitating on the streets of Kolkata for the last 500 days against the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities refused to withdraw their stir even as Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee met a delegation of the candidates on Friday in a damage control exercise.

Banerjee failed to get any assurance from the delegation that the indefinite stir on this issue will be withdrawn immediately. After the meeting, the delegation leader, S. Shahidullah said that they had a discussion with Abhishek Banerjee and the current state education minister, Bratya Basu.

“This was the first meeting. It is not possible to make a decision after the first meeting. In future there will be more meetings and accordingly we will decide our next course of action,” he said.

However, he added that the meeting ended on a positive note. “Both the state education minister and Abhishek Banerjee assured that they will ensure that fresh recruitments are made where the earlier who figured in the merit list gets empanelled. However, both referred to certain legal and administration hitches which delayed the process. But both assured that the legal hitches will be overcome and proper recruitments will be made,” Shahidullah said.

However, neither Abhishek Banerjee nor Bratya Basu made any comment to the media persons after the meeting.

It is learnt that the delegation will have another round of meeting with Bratya Basu and the WBSSC chairman on August 4. However, Abhishek Banerjee will not be present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, on Friday only, while hearing on a case of teachers’ recruitment irregularities, Calcutta High Court’s Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, without naming anyone issued a note of caution to the state government ministers not to hold the court or the legal system responsible for the delay in going for fresh recruitments.

“Certain important political personalities should be careful while dragging the court on any issue. The court will take appropriate action if it is dragged into the political arena again and again,” Justice Gangopadhyay observed.