Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal over the school jobs scam and said that the livelihoods of about 26,000 youths in the state were lost due to the party’s corruption.
Addressing a public meeting in Malda town in support of BJP Lok Sabha candidates Khagen Murmu and Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhary, PM Modi said, “TMC played with the lives of the youths in Bengal. About 26,000 people lost their livelihoods due to the massive recruitment scam. Those who took loans and gave them to the TMC (to get jobs) are on the roads now. It is the BJP government at the Centre which is providing jobs to the youths with full expertise.”
PM Modi was referring to the Calcutta High Court ordering the cancellation of appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made through the recruitment process of State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, earlier this week. The court also directed that a section of those recruits will have to return salaries drawn by them along with 12 per cent per annum interest.