The conditions of three teachers are stated to be critical and they have been shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at two state-run R G Kar and N R S hospitals respectively.

Two teachers Sikha Das and Jyotsna Tudu are undergoing treatment at N R S Hospital while the other Putul Jana Mondal at R G Kar Hospital. Both livers and lungs of all the three are badly affected after they consumed 40 to 50 mg
liquid poison.

State education minister Bratya Basu took a swipe at the teachers in a Facebook post and called them “BJP cadres” and Bidhannagar police in a suo-motu action slapped non-bailable charges against the quintet.

Branding them as being “BJP cadres”, the education minister claimed the state government under the leadership of the chief minister has taken several steps for the welfare of teachers. Listing the measures, Basu averred that the honorarium of teachers had been increased.

“Each of them had been covered by the “Swasth Saathi” scheme. Besides, teachers now can enjoy the benefits of a one-time pension scheme of Rs 3 lakh after retirement at the age of 60. Those who had retired would be eligible for Provident Fund ( PF), which had been commissioned since February this year. Moreover, women are now entitled to maternity leave benefits as per government rules.

Despite such facilities and benefits, those who continued their stir, were nothing but BJP cadres”, asserted Basu in his Facebook post.

Coming down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government for its failure to meet up the demands of the teachers the Opposition leaders today visited the teachers at the two hospitals. BJP leaders Sayantan Bose and Dr Subhas Sarkar, Union Minister of State for Education, visited the teachers at R G Kar nad NRS hospitals.

The state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also slammed the government saying, “The incident is a shame for Bengal and the chief minister should immediately look into the issue to solve the demands of the agitating teachers.”

Five female contractual teachers of primary schools allegedly consumed poison on Tuesday while demonstrating at Bikash Bhaban demanding the government to meet up their job-related demands immediately, a senior police officer said.

The BJP state president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the state government is doing vindictive politics with teachers which led to the mishap where five women teachers yesterday attempted to commit suicide.

He said that the government is failing to provide DA and is transferring teachers to distant locations if they protest. “In our state, there is a woman chief minister under whose rule women teachers are being tortured like how these five victims were transferred to North Bengal during the pandemic.

Such unfortunate incidents like attempting suicide happened in front of the government office which is a shame for a woman CM,” he said.