Agartala: A day after teacher Rumi Debbarma, one among 10,323 teachers in the 'Joint Movement Committee' attempted suicide, another teacher died at Thalcherra area of Amarpur sub-division in Gomati district taking the total death to 81. A total of 10,323 teachers were terminated in 2014 from service after a court found irregularities in their recruitment which happened between 2010 and 2014. The unemployed teachers have been staging an indefinite protest seeking restoration of employment.
Rattled by the incident, the agitating teachers under the banner 'Joint Movement Committee' on Sunday blocked roads in the city, bringing traffic to a standstill. The teachers argued that they were not allowed to pay final adieu to their deceased colleague.
The teachers wanted to bring the mortal remains of Rumi Debbarma to the spot of agitation but they were reportedly not granted permission. Aggrieved by the move, the teachers sat on the road at Battala that used to connect the city’s southern part with the rest of the city area. Noticing the situation going out of control, police and TSR personnel had been deployed in the area with water cannons and riot control vans.
The blockade lasted for around 2 hours 15 minute as the protestors lifted the blockade after talks with the police personnel. Speaking on the issue, Sub-divisional Police Officer Chiranjib Chakraborty said that the blockade lasted for around 2 hours and the agitators agreed to withdraw the bandh after several rounds of talks, persuasion and negotiation. Finally, the agitating teachers did not bring the mortal remains of Rumi Debbarma.
One of the agitating teachers said, “We have lost 81 people who once used to serve with us. The police department has not allowed us to pay final tribute to the mortal remains of Rumi Debbarma. Now, we demand that the body must be brought here and then we shall withdraw our agitation”.
On the other hand, reacting on the matter, Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said, “the state government has already cleared its stance on the matter. The Chief Minister has requested them to participate in the interview and prepare for the exams. Now if they want to continue their protests, I have no right to stop them because this is their democratic right. Reiterating the statement of Chief Minister, "As a member of the state council of Ministers, I am once again appealing them to come and participate in the interview otherwise someone else will get the job”.
Explaining the pattern of questions and state governments' limitations, he said, “all of them have enough experience and I am sure most of them will pass the exams in flying colours since the syllabus has been also simplified as per the common recruitment rules. In the entire country, you will find no instances where the jobs are given without any interview. It is impossible to send offer letters to the place of their agitation and it is also not permissible under the law as the Supreme Court has denied any special treatment for them.”
Sniffing political motives, the Education Minister also said, they are being misled by some people and they should not fall in the trap. “Statements of Manik babu (Sarkar) and Badal Babu (Chowdhury) (both former ministers of the Left government) cannot change the reality. If they can show one piece of paper from the Court, I will give them jobs. When the state government moved the Supreme Court with an affidavit seeking jobs for them without an interview, the Court rejected the plea and categorically said that apart from age relaxation no special privileges can be offered”, Nath said.
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