Massive protest in Siliguri; Raju Bista slams Bengal government over SSC scam and Hindu atrocities

A massive rally was held in Siliguri on April 24 where Member of Parliament from Darjeeling and BJP National Spokesperson, Raju Bista, came down heavily on the West Bengal Government over the School Service Commission (SSC) scam and the alleged persecution of Hindus in the state. The rally saw the participation of hundreds of protestors, including teachers, students, and local residents, who voiced their anger and concern over the recent developments that have shaken the state’s education system and communal harmony.

Addressing the gathering, Bista criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for its handling of the teacher recruitment process under the School Service Commission. He pointed to the Calcutta High Court’s verdict; later upheld by the Supreme Court which cancelled the appointments of more than 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff members. The court’s decision, Bista said, exposed the corruption in the recruitment process and served as a major blow to the ruling state government.

He alleged that the West Bengal government deliberately refused to submit the list of genuine candidates to the court in order to shield those who had been appointed illegally. According to Bista, this action has led to the devastation of thousands of honest teachers’ careers and the destruction of their families’ livelihoods. “It is not just a legal verdict, it is a moral judgment against a corrupt system that failed its own people,” he said.

Bista raised four key questions during his speech, demanding clarity from the government on the future of the genuine candidates. He asked what would happen to those honest teachers who have now crossed the age limit for reapplying. He also questioned whether the state would compensate them or those who lost their jobs due to being replaced by illegitimate candidates. Lastly, he demanded to know if the government planned to recover salaries and benefits paid to the illegally appointed staff.

“The greed of TMC leaders has ruined not just thousands of careers, but also the future of generations of students in Bengal,” Bista said. “Justice must be delivered, and those responsible must step down, starting with the Chief Minister herself.”

The rally also brought attention to another serious concern; the alleged rise in violence against Hindus in various parts of West Bengal, particularly in Murshidabad and Malda. Bista accused the state government of turning a blind eye to the plight of the victims. He said that Hindu families were being attacked, their homes and businesses destroyed, and many were being forced to leave their villages, while the Chief Minister remained silent and unresponsive.

He compared the current situation to the targeted violence that occurred in Kashmir in the 1990s. “This is not a time for silence. This is a time for action. The Hindu community will no longer remain quiet in the face of such injustice,” Bista said. He further accused Mamata Banerjee of blaming everyone from the Border Security Force to the central government, instead of taking responsibility for maintaining peace and order in the state.

The MP said that the people of West Bengal deserve a fair, transparent, and merit-based system, and that the time had come to remove those who were corrupt and unfit to govern. “We need to restore trust in our institutions and bring back dignity to our education system. That can only happen when those in power are held accountable,” he said.