Kolkata: Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya on Sunday strongly criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government over the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scam, alleging that teacher jobs were “openly sold in the market” and the entire selection process was marred by “systematic fraud.”

Speaking to ANI after the Supreme Court’s judgment, Bhattacharya said, “The 2016 SSC exam, which was probably the first attempt of the TMC government after returning to power, was vitiated by fraud. It has now become clear after the Supreme Court’s ruling that the government deliberately manipulated the process. Teacher’s jobs were openly sold in the market.”

He further accused the SSC of shielding certain individuals, adding, “The commission has not honestly declared the names of tainted candidates. They are still trying to protect their favourites by withholding full details, which clearly shows how deep-rooted the corruption was.”

On August 31, the WBSSC released a list of 1,804 ineligible candidates in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order. This came after the apex court upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision to cancel the recruitment of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in 2016 due to large-scale corruption and manipulation.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, found the recruitment process fraudulent and directed the TMC government to initiate a fresh selection process. Earlier, teachers who lost their jobs after the court’s verdict staged multiple protests, including the ‘Nabanno Abhiyan’ march in Howrah, demanding justice and reinstatement.

In April this year, the Supreme Court dismissed the Bengal government’s plea challenging the Calcutta High Court’s 2022 order and upheld the cancellation of the recruitment. Around 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run and aided schools lost their jobs due to the alleged scam.