Kolkata, June 13 (IANS) A group of “untainted” or “genuine” teachers in state-run schools in West Bengal, who have lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order in April this year, started a fresh fast-undo-death agitation near the office of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

The hunger strike began after midnight at Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

The fresh fast was kicked off by 10 “untainted” teachers amid the process of filling up of vacant posts being initiated by the commission by issuing a notification on the matter on May 30.

The main demand of the protesting teachers is that they will not appear for fresh examinations.

The protesting teachers, united under the banner of ‘Jogyo Shikshak-Shikshika Adhikar Mancha (Genuine Teachers’ Rights Forum)’, have their logic in support of their demands.

The first argument is that they have no reason to appear for a fresh recruitment examination since they had already qualified for the job earlier and in the proper way unlike the “tainted” ones, who got jobs after paying money.

The second logic is that first the Calcutta High Court last year and then the Supreme Court in April this year, would not have ordered for the cancellation of jobs of all teachers had the West Bengal government and the commission published lists segregating the “untainted” staff from the “tainted” ones.

This is the second time that the “untainted” teachers have initiated a hunger strike in support of their demands.

Earlier, they started a relay hunger strike on April 21, which they paused on April 26 following the state government’s assurance to sit with them for talks.

However, they continued with their assembly and sit-in demonstration in front of the WBSSC office during the interim period.

“The state government did not honour a single demand of ours. The state government had shown reluctance in giving us any specific assurance. So we are left with no other option but to start the hunger strike again,” said a protesting teacher.

On April 3, a Supreme Court Bench comprising then Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order of the Calcutta High Court that annulled 25,753 school appointments made through the WBSSC.

The apex court observed that the panel had to be scrapped entirely due to the authorities’ failure to distinguish between “tainted” and “untainted” candidates.

The state government and the WBSSC have since filed review petitions in the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of the order.

–IANS

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