KOLKATA: Amid the row over alleged irregularities in school appointments, Siddhartha Majumdar, the chairman of West Bengal Central School Service Commission, tendered his resignation from the post on Wednesday, which was accepted by Education Secretary Manish Jain hours later.
The school education department has instituted Samagra Siksha Mission state project director Subhra Chakrabarti to the top post in the commission.
"In view of the resignation of Siddhartha Majumdar, chairman of West Bengal Central School Service Commission from his post with immediate effect, the competent authority in the state government has decided that Subhra Chakrabarti, IAS, presently posted as State Project Director, SSM, will hold the charge of chairman (sic)," the school education department said in a notification.
Majumdar, a professor of commerce department in City College, had taken over charge from Suvankar Sarkar only in January, 2021.
He did not cite any reason for quitting.
Sarkar had stepped down from the post after being indicted by the high court over alleged irregularities in recruitment to SSC posts.
Breaking his silence on the matter, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had met him during the day and sought a thorough probe into it.
Without commenting on the sub-judice matter, Dhankhar, who has shared an acrimonius relation with the Mamata Banerjee since he took over the gubernatorial post in July 2019, said Adhikari had informed him that recruitment of teachers in government and government aided schools has been tainted and sullied by gross nepotism.
The leader of opposition has sought a thorough probe into what he called "the mother of all recruitment scams with skeletons daily out of government wardrobes," Dhankhar said.
"He (Adhikari) sought intervention in the process for appointment of Lokayukta, Information Commissioners & SHRC Chairman and member as no information is being shared with him," Dhankhar tweeted.
"LOP @SuvenduWB asserted that recruitment of teachers has been tainted and sullied by gross nepotism, favouritism and corruption with massive involvement of Ministers #WB This unprecedented scam has opened 'can of worms' and needs thorough probe," the governor posted on the microblogging site.
After meeting Dhankhar, Adhikari accused Partha Chatterjee, the secretary general of the ruling Trinamool Congress and West Bengal minister of abetting and aiding corruption and called him the "mastermind of the SSC recruitment scam".
Chatterjee had held the education portfolio when the "irregularities" took place and be cannot be absolved, he added.
Adhikari, who is the BJP MLA from Nandigram, also claimed that assembly election in the state will take place along with Lok Sabha poll in 2024 and not in 2026.
"I guess the way things are unfolding, the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaenously in 2024.
See how things unfold," Adhikari said it was unprecedented in the country that two state ministers were asked by the court to appear before the central investigating agency on a single day.
Two ministers - Chatterjee and Paresh Adhikari have deprived lakhs of eligible SSC candidates from getting jobs, he alleged.
Responding to his comments, TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said "Law will take its own course, and we have faith in judiciary.
"But my question before CBI is why Suvendu Adhikari, who is tainted in several graft cases, is not being arrested by it?" Ghosh added.