Jobs for Sale: Inside Mamata Banerjee’s SSC Recruitment Scam

Paromita Das

New Delhi, 3rd September: West Bengal was once celebrated as the land of poets, revolutionaries, and intellectual giants. It was a soil rich in heritage, culture, and wealth. Today, however, its glory is overshadowed by corruption so pervasive that it has seeped into the very institutions meant to safeguard the dreams of its youth. At the heart of this decay stands Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose regime has been rocked by one of the most explosive recruitment scams in Bharat’s recent political history—the School Service Commission (SSC) scam of 2016.

When the Supreme Court ordered the publication of the tainted candidates’ list, many expected skeletons to tumble out of closets. Instead, what emerged was nothing less than a political earthquake—proof of how loyalty to the ruling party had replaced merit, and how Bengal’s future was bartered for political gain.

The SSC Scam: Looting Bengal’s Future

The 2016 recruitment drive was supposed to bring hope for thousands of aspiring teachers and non-teaching staff. Instead, it became a cash-rich playground for corruption. The Supreme Court scrapped more than 25,753 jobs, calling the process “thoroughly vitiated.”

The revelation of 1,806 ineligible jobholders confirmed what many had long suspected: the system had been hijacked. These weren’t just irregularities; they were deliberate betrayals, orchestrated to reward party loyalists while depriving deserving candidates of their rightful opportunities.

Every undeserving appointment came at the cost of a dream deferred—students who studied for years, unemployed youth who pinned their hopes on government jobs, and families who sacrificed everything for a better future.

Nepotism Dressed as Governance

What shocked Bengal most was the brazenness with which the scam unfolded. The tainted list released by the SSC read like a roll call of Trinamool Congress leaders’ families and loyalists. Daughters of ministers, councilors with party badges, youth leaders flaunting their proximity to power, and even spouses of senior functionaries—each name was a reminder that government jobs had been reduced to rewards for political servitude.

Among them stood figures like Roshnara Begum, daughter of Chopra MLA Hamidul Rahman, Ankita Adhikari, daughter of former minister Paresh Adhikari, and Kuheli Ghosh, a councilor in Rajpur-Sonarpur. Add to this the presence of MLA relatives such as Sampa Ghosh, alongside loyalists like Sahina Sultana and party strongman Bibhas Malik with his wife Santoshi Malik, and the picture becomes clear: this was not recruitment, but nepotism institutionalized.

The very posts meant to inspire hope in Bengal’s youth had become the spoils of political inheritance.

Supreme Court’s Tight Grip

The judiciary has taken unprecedented steps to restore credibility. After ruling that the recruitment process was compromised, the Supreme Court directed the SSC to release the tainted list before conducting fresh exams scheduled for September 7 and 14.

Initially, the SSC attempted to release only 1,804 names, but backlash forced an emergency meeting, resulting in a corrected list of 1,806. Their admit cards were cancelled, preventing them from sitting for new examinations.

This intervention is more than procedural correction—it is the judiciary standing between Bengal’s youth and the political machinery that betrayed them.

Political Storm and Mamata’s Silence

The revelations have ignited a firestorm across Bengal’s political landscape. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari minced no words, declaring:
“Jobs were sold, with money routed to Kalighat. This list proves how deep TMC’s corruption runs.”

For the opposition, the SSC scam is proof of what they have long argued—that the Trinamool Congress is a “party of thieves.” Yet Mamata Banerjee has maintained a calculated silence. Her refusal to address the scandal is itself a loud admission. By avoiding accountability, she confirms what Bengal already knows: the rot runs from the very top.

A Government That Loots Its Children’s Future

Corruption in politics is not new, but the SSC scam cuts deeper. This was not merely about money; it was about robbing an entire generation of their future. Every undeserving candidate who secured a post represents not just corruption, but betrayal—betrayal of students, betrayal of families, betrayal of Bengal itself.

Mamata Banerjee, once hailed as a crusader against injustice, now presides over a system where corruption is institutionalized. This is her legacy: not empowerment, not progress, but erosion of meritocracy.

Bengal Deserves Better

The SSC scam is more than a scandal—it is a turning point. It forces Bengal to confront a painful truth: under Mamata Banerjee’s rule, corruption has become normalized, and the future of the state’s youth is expendable.

Yet Bengal has always been resilient. Its soil has given rise to thinkers, reformers, and fighters who challenged oppression in every era. Today, the people must rise again—not against foreign rulers, but against a government that treats their children’s dreams as currency.

Bengal deserves better than jobs sold for loyalty. It deserves leaders who value merit over nepotism, accountability over silence, and honesty over corruption. Until then, the state’s rich cultural heritage will remain overshadowed by the dark shadow of Mamata Banerjee’s governance.