High Court Proceedings Run as per the Whims of BJP: Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA:
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday levelled serious allegations against a section of the judiciary, claiming that proceedings in the high courts are being run as per the whims of the BJP.

Addressing an election rally in Bolpur on Wednesday, the Trinamool supremo said, “The BJP controls the affairs of the high courts due to its financial strength. I am not saying anything against the Supreme Court. We are still seeking justice there. But in the high courts, the BJP always has its way. Others do not get justice.”

To recall, in a crucial ruling on Monday, the Calcutta High Court cancelled 25,753 appointments in teaching and non-teaching posts made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016. The case is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Addressing the rally, CM Banerjee also indirectly targeted the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, without taking his name.

“There is a traitor who won’t be tried in the court even if he is accused of murder. He is never sent behind the bars,” the Chief Minister said.

She also made an attempt to distance herself from the Calcutta High Court’s ruling in the school jobs case on Monday.

“There are different departments in the state government, where appointments are internal matters. I do not interfere in that. Yet at the same time, around 26,000 individuals lost their jobs following the order of the Calcutta High Court,” she said.

She also expressed apprehension over the future of many state-run schools following the terminations of service of so many teachers.