The West Bengal government and the Kolkata Police have come under fire following violent clashes between police personnel and protesting teachers in Kasba. State Education Minister Bratya Basu and Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma have both blamed the protestors for the outbreak of violence, even as disturbing visuals showed police lathicharge and physical assaults.
Police Commissioner Claims Protestors Attacked First
CP Manoj Verma defended the police action by stating that protestors were the first to attack. “Four police personnel including two women were injured in the attack by the protestors. We have the video footage. The situation was going out of hand. The on-duty cops had to make a mild lathi-charge,” said Verma.
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Footage circulated online showed cops chasing protestors, hitting them with lathis and stomping them during the chaos outside the District Inspector of Schools office in Kasba.
Education Minister Questions Protestors’ Intent
State Education Minister Bratya Basu questioned the rationale behind the protest, citing the Chief Minister’s assurance to the teaching and non-teaching staff. “The Chief Minister has assured them the government will be with them, salaries will not be stopped, none of them will be sacked. Then why did they go to the DI’s offices?” asked Basu.
He added: “The education department is unaware of what the cops have done. The teachers have to decide whether they want to be with the government or those who are provoking them into violence?”
Statewide Police Action on Protestors
Similar police action was reported in several other towns across West Bengal, including Tamluk (East Midnapore), Midnapore Town (West Midnapore), and Balurghat (South Dinajpur). The lathi-charge incident occurred just two days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee publicly assured protestors that their jobs would be protected.
BJP MP Abhijit Ganguly Criticizes Mamata Banerjee
BJP MP and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Ganguly met with School Service Commission (SSC) Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar on Wednesday. Notably, he did not meet Education Minister Bratya Basu.
In a symbolic protest, Ganguly tore a letter addressed to CM Mamata Banerjee after the Kasba violence, accusing the government of mishandling the school jobs scam. “It was entirely possible for the government to segregate the untainted ones from the tainted ones. On Mamata Banerjee’s instructions, the segregation was not done,” Ganguly said.
He further questioned the Chief Minister: “Yesterday she asked why a lawyer had filed a case. She has to answer why she had allowed this (cash-for-jobs scam).”
Call for Transparency from SSC
Following his meeting with the SSC Chairman, Ganguly suggested the release of the mirror image of OMR sheets as a step towards resolution. “It appears the SSC is thinking in these lines. I have told the SSC to release this data by Friday,” said the Tamluk MP.
BJP Protests Lathi-Charge on Teachers
Meanwhile, BJP supporters launched a dharna at Mayo Road in Kolkata, protesting against the police brutality on the agitating teachers. The incident has intensified political tensions in the state amid ongoing debates over transparency and justice in the recruitment process.
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