Tea, Fritters In Hand, SSC Aspirants Hit Kolkata Streets Over Jobs Crisis
The first, by visually impaired and differently-abled job seekers, was staged outside the Bikash Bhavan in Salt Lake, where protesters alleged prolonged deprivation and demanded restoration of jobs to the posts they had earlier held
Kolkata: Carrying tea kettles and packets of fritters and puffed rice, aggrieved School Service Commission (SSC) job aspirants marched through the streets of Kolkata on Thursday, staging a symbolic protest a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee suggested self-employment through selling tea and snacks.
Two separate marches were held in the city.
The first, by visually impaired and differently-abled job seekers, was staged outside the Bikash Bhavan in Salt Lake, where protesters alleged prolonged deprivation and demanded restoration of jobs to the posts they had earlier held.
They sought a meeting with Education Minister Bratya Basu but alleged they were denied an audience, prompting angry demonstrations outside the education department headquarters.
The second march saw SSC aspirants, who had never been employed earlier, walk from Sealdah to Dharmatala, protesting what they described as systemic injustice in the recruitment process.
Many participants carried tea kettles, cups, and 'chop-muri' packets, linking their demonstration directly to the chief minister's remarks recently.
On Wednesday, while addressing a business conference at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Banerjee had spoken about self-reliance and small-scale entrepreneurship, suggesting that people could start earning by selling tea, biscuits, or 'ghugni' at bus stands or railway platforms.
"If someone can say that he was a chaiwala, then what is the harm in selling tea or Ghugni if one can earn a livelihood out of this," she said.
The remarks, however, drew sharp reactions from job aspirants affected by the SSC recruitment crisis.
Protesters alleged that their 'rightful jobs' had been lost due to corruption and irregularities, forcing them to resort to symbolic demonstrations with tea and snacks.
"This is symbolic, but we have no option left. The chief minister herself is telling us to sell tea and chop-muri. Our jobs have been sold," said one protester holding a kettle. Another aspirant alleged that candidates who had earlier been declared ineligible were being favoured, while new candidates were deprived despite qualifying through examinations.
The SSC aspirants also objected to the commission awarding an additional 10 marks for prior experience, arguing that it disadvantaged first-time examinees. Some protesters demanded that at least one lakh additional vacancies be created to accommodate those affected.
Opposition parties have repeatedly criticised Banerjee's remarks on self-employment, alleging that rising unemployment and corruption in recruitment have forced the government to offer "tea and snack stalls" as alternatives to regular jobs. Protesters said the kettles and food items in Thursday's marches were meant to underline that criticism through symbolic resistance.
