‘Tainted’ SSC candidates question list, to move court

Kolkata: Several persons whose names appear on the list of tainted candidates published by the School Service Commission (SSC) have threatened to move court on Monday, questioning the basis of their inclusion on what some of them called the "name-and-shame" list.The candidates claimed that no charges of wrongdoing had been established against them.SSC on Sunday added two more names to the list of candidates who had secured school jobs through unfair means after appearing in the 2016 State Level Selection Test, taking the tally to 1,806. The list was published following an SC order.The commission has cancelled the admit cards issued to some of the "tainted" candidates for the Sept 7 and 14 tests, which are being held to fill the vacancies created after Calcutta HC and SC scrapped the 2016 panel on the grounds of malpractice.Kuheli Ghosh, a three-term Trinamool councillor of Rajpur-Sonarpur Municipality, said, "I do not know why my name is on the tainted list. The courts classified three categories to weed out the tainted candidates. I do not fall in any of them. In fact, I had moved court in 2022 on this. I will move Calcutta HC on Monday."The three categories of "tainted" candidates are the ones who were preferred over those with higher ranks, whose names did not figure on the recruitment panel and whose score on the OMR sheets stored in SSC server did not match the scores on the hard drive of an agency hired to assess the sheets.Md Najibullah, whose father Mohammad Isad is chairperson of Barasat-I panchayat samiti and a Trinamool block president, also figures on the "tainted" list. Najibullah questioned the basis of his disqualification. "On what basis has SSC prepared the list? If the OMR sheets were destroyed, how did they prepare the list? I will move court."Kabita Burman, former Trinamool zilla parishad sabhadipati of North Dinajpur who is now with BJP, refused to comment.Also on the list are Rosnara Begum, daughter of Trinamool's Chopra MLA Hamidul Rahaman, and Shampa Ghosh, daughter-in-law of Nirmal Ghosh, Pannihati MLA and Trinamool chief whip in the Assembly.Rahaman said, "The law will take its course." Nirmal Ghosh said, "Truth and falsehood will come out in court."Trinamool MP and senior lawyer Kalyan Banerjee, who is appearing for the state and SSC in SC, said, "Look at the list and say how many from BJP are on it. How many from East Midnapore, West Midnapore and Bankura got their jobs on Suvendu Adhikari's recommendation? There is no point in indulging in political blame game. BJP leaders can file petitions in court instead of delivering speeches."Adhikari, leader of opposition in the Bengal Assembly, countered Banerjee, saying he should refrain from making wild allegations. "It is public knowledge that I disliked Partha Chatterjee (the now-jailed former education minister) to the extent that I did not speak with him," he told reporters, referring to his stint in Trinamool before switching to BJP.Chatterjee is an accused in the school cash-for-job scam.The list also includes Ritesh Ghosh, a Bengali teacher at Ronghat Regional High School in Bagdah and a resident of Bongaon. Ghosh said SSC had "misused" the SC order."SC's April 3 order does not clearly state that candidates would be disqualified on the OMR issue... Yet, SSC has included my name on the list. I got the job fairly and will take legal action," he said.Kamlesh Kapat, another "tainted" candidate on the list, said, "We want to know on what basis the SSC published the list. The entire panel was cancelled by SC as it was not clear who were eligible and who were not. What is the validity of this list? We are likely move court on Monday."