BJP workers protest against the eviction of TET candidates in Kolkata on Friday. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)Artists and intellectuals on Friday condemned the midnight crackdown by the police on the protesting TET-qualified candidates outside the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) office and said that the action amounts to a violation of the rights of the protesters.
Issuing a joint statement, the intellectuals said, “We have seen in media reports how Bidhannagar police used force to remove the protesting candidates and to stop their movement. We strongly condemn such an act. We feel that this action amounts to a violation of the rights of the people of West Bengal.”
Those who signed the statement are filmmaker Aparna Sen, public health specialist Dr Binayak Sen, doctor Kunal Sarkar, thespian Bibhas Chakraborty, film personalities Koushik Sen, Riddhi Sen and others.
The statement added, “We appeal to the state government to immediately resolve the issue through discussions. We also appeal to the government to ensure that no criminal case is initiated against the protesting candidates.”
The Mamata Banerjee government on Friday drew widespread condemnation from political parties and intellectuals following the midnight crackdown on Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET)-qualified candidates in Salt Lake area by Bidhannagar police and subsequent enforcement of section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).