TMC, BJP spar over teacher stir
Treasury bench alleges Mamata failed to deal with serious issue
The ongoing stir by parateachers in West Bengal since the past 11 days, seeking a hike in their salaries, led to verbal sparring between Trinamul Congress and BJP MPs in Lok Sabha on Friday.
The treasury benches alleged West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s failure to deal with the issue and cited the death of one agitating teacher on Thursday, which caused an uproar in the House as Trinamul members shouted back at BJP MPs, rejecting the allegations.
Over 1,000 para-teachers, who are contractual teachers in government-run schools, are on a sit-in in the state. Around 30-odd of them have been on a fast since November 15.
BJP MP from Hoogly, Locket Chatte-rjee, raised the issue during Zero Hour, said it has been several days and the strike is still on. “What about the small children when teachers are striking for their future? The state education minister has
not replied over the issue yet. The West Bengal chief minister hasn’t spoken a single word on the issue. The para-teachers are protesting for their rights. The West Bengal government is not doing anything. If the protest goes on like this, many teachers will die,” she alleged.
While the BJP MP spoke for around 10 minutes, MPs belonging to the TMC and BJP kept on shouting at each other even as some opposition members came and stood near the Well.
Interestingly, while the sparring continued over a serious issue and the Speaker Om Birla allowed Ms Chatterjee to carry on with her speech, several lawmakers from both the sides and union ministers could be seen laughing and cracking jokes.