The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday held a large-scale protest in Siliguri against the alleged irregularities in the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) teacher recruitment processes.

The rally, organised by the BJP’s Siliguri district unit and led by Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, also condemned what the party described as the state government’s “anti-Hindu stance.”

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Thousands of BJP supporters marched towards the Siliguri Sub-Divisional Office (SDO), where police had set up barricades and deployed water cannon. Tensions escalated when protesters broke through the barricades, leading to a brief scuffle with police. Several BJP leaders, including MLAs and district president Arun Mondal, sat on the road in protest.

Demonstrators also tore down posters related to the inauguration of a Jagannath Temple in Digha and burned images of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, party leader Abhishek Banerjee.

They demanded the chief minister’s resignation over her failure to ensure a fair and transparent teacher recruitment process in West Bengal.

Speaking to the media, Mr Mandal criticised the ruling Trinamul Congress (TMC) and the police, accusing them of inaction during recent attacks on Hindu families in Murshidabad. The BJP said the protest was driven by two key issues: the SSC recruitment scam and the alleged targeting of Hindus in various parts of the state.

MP Raju Bista referred to the Calcutta High Court’s decision—upheld by the Supreme Court—which annulled the appointment of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff under the SSC. He described the verdict as not just a legal rebuke of a flawed recruitment process, but a broader condemnation of corruption in the state government.

Bista raised several concerns, including the fate of genuine candidates who are now over the age limit for recruitment. “Will these teachers be allowed to reapply? Will they be compensated? And will the government recover salaries paid to those recruited illegally?” he asked.

He further accused the TMC leadership of destroying the futures of thousands of teachers and students, calling for the chief minister’s resignation and a complete overhaul of the recruitment system.

Addressing the issue of communal violence, Bista alleged that Hindus were being targeted in districts such as Murshidabad and Malda, while the state government remained indifferent. “The chief minister has not even visited the victims,” he said, accusing her of deflecting blame onto the central government and security forces.

Comparing the current situation to the persecution of Hindus in Kashmir during the 1990s, Bista said: “In 2025, Hindus in West Bengal and across India are aware and united. We will not tolerate further violence or radicalism.”