Thousands of dismissed Bengal teachers marched to the SSC Bhawan on Friday, while others launched a relay hunger strike, escalating tensions in poll-bound West Bengal. Protesters, holding placards and chanting slogans, demanded a clear distinction between 'genuine' and 'tainted' candidates from the 2016 SSC exam.
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00:00Bengal of teachers protesting over the fact that over 25,000 of them have lost their jobs.
00:07This after the Supreme Court had terminated over 25,000 teachers' contracts in Bengal
00:12and the recruitment was scrapped.
00:14This is a protest by the teachers who hit the streets in Kolkata
00:17and this at a time when you have seen a massive political showdown over this very issue.
00:23The fact that the Trinamool Congress and Mamata Banerjee
00:26has called the Supreme Court verdict as unacceptable as questioned the Supreme Court order.
00:31The BJP has claimed that the 25,000 teachers being sacked is a direct result of the TMC's corruption.
00:39So while you're seeing politics play out over this issue,
00:42teachers, 25,000 of them, are left without their jobs
00:46and so they've hit the streets in protest demanding action.
00:50This comes two weeks after the Supreme Court said the entire process of the teacher recruitment was flawed
00:55and so they cancelled and terminated the appointment of 25,000 teachers.
01:00The Supreme Court made it very clear that it was impossible to identify exactly where the rot was in the system
01:05and that's why all 25,000 teachers' jobs were terminated.
01:11Essentially, the recruitment process completely cancelled.
01:14So even as that particular decision was taken by the Supreme Court, the showdown continues.
01:19We've got Anirban Roy joining us live from the protest site in Kolkata.
01:22Anirban, get us some voices from the ground.
01:25Visible anger, understandably teachers are hitting the streets there in protest.
01:34Well, see, those teachers, those who lost their job after the Supreme Court order
01:39and after, as the Supreme Court said, that this is for the SSC scam.
01:45And right now, the long teacher march, the teachers, on and about 12,000 to 15,000 teachers,
01:54those who are claiming that they are not tainted, they are untainted,
02:00they got their job in a proper way after giving a proper examination
02:06and they are having proper sheet along with the mirror image of the examination.
02:13That's why they are protesting and they are demanding that they have to provide
02:19the proper OMR sheet as well as the proper mirror image of the OMR sheet to the court.
02:32After that, there must be a repetition by these protesters as well as by the West Bengal government.
02:39And after that, they are hoping that they will get their job back
02:43as they are saying that they are not tainted candidates
02:47and that's why they are doing their protest over here in front of the SSC Bhavan.
02:54As well as, apart from the protest, there is another meeting between these teachers
03:01along with the TMC Minister, Education Minister, Bratko Moshe today.
03:07And after that, there will be a decision.
03:09But as we all know that these people, these teachers right now, those who are protesting,
03:15are afraid also because previously we have seen in the DI office of Kolkata in Kashwa
03:22where these teachers were being lati-charged and also being kicked by the police.
03:27And right now, they are saying if they will be kicked or they will be lati-charged.
03:31today, then they will take a massive decision and they will not leave the streets of Salt Lake
03:38and they will still be in this protest.
03:42I am having one of the teachers with me.
03:44Here is OMR sheet hanging and right now it was written that
03:49the government have to release the OMR sheet as well as the mirror image.
03:58What are you thinking about today?
04:01What do you think after this election, something will be given to the government in the mirror image?
04:07What do you think about the mirror image?
04:10Why are they not publishing? That is the question.
04:17Well, they are stating that they want the OMR sheet as well as the mirror image.
04:24of the candidates when the examination has happened and right now I am showing that the OMR sheet as well as the mirror image of the candidates.
04:31And right now I am showing the images in front of the SSC Bhavan.
04:38The red building is the SSC Bhavan, the Acharya Shwadon of Kolkata where the commission office held there.
04:45And in front of that there is thousands and thousands of teachers, women and men, those who are protesting in front of that.
04:52And police is trying to restrict them to enter to the premises and right now it will go big as they are saying that
04:59If the commission, if the West Bengal government is not giving the proper things in the hand of the Supreme Court as well as in the hand of them,
05:06then they will go with a bigger protest and bigger march after today.
05:13Over to you, Oshima.
05:15Okay, I am showing you the most of the teachers, women and men, those who are protesting in front of that.
05:20And police is trying to restrict them to enter to the premises and right now it will go big as they are saying that if the commission, if the West Bengal government is not giving the proper things in the hand of the Supreme Court as well as in the hand of them,
05:29then they will go with a bigger protest and bigger march after today.
05:34Over to you, Oshima.
05:36Okay, Anirban, thank you very much for joining us with that live update and getting those voices there from the ground.
05:41Protesters and the teachers visibly and understandably angry over all that's played out because many of them have been dealt an unfair hand as a result of this corruption in the system.