Tripura: Can 2023 polls give 10,323 sacked teachers a legislative voice?

Agartala: Some people call it a procedural fault, some term it an illegal recruitment while others define 10,323 as a cursed numerical figure. But in Tripura politics, 10,323 retrenched teachers remain an unavoidable issue. Neither the opposition nor the ruling party could do anything for the teachers sacked from services and left in the lurch for the last three years.

The teachers who once committed to shaping children’s future left no stone unturned to press for their demands through protests, hunger strikes, and sit-in demonstrations. But all their efforts turned futile. Amid disappointment and despair, the assembly elections of 2023 seem to have arrived with a glimmer of hope and possibilities.

Two retrenched teachers are fighting elections this year as joint candidates of the Left-Cong tie up and both have vowed to raise the issue of the sacked teachers on the floors of the state assembly.

Speaking to EastMojo, both ex-teachers said they decided to fight the elections from the opposition camp because they have given up their hopes from the present dispensation.

Also Read | Tripura 2023: Success of women candidates may decide next govt

Satyajit Reang, a member of the Communist Party of India nominated from the Santirbazar assembly constituency in South Tripura district, said he would certainly raise the issue in the state assembly if he gets the blessing of the people. Reang joined active politics after being removed from services on March 31, 2020.

“I was teaching in a Junior Basic School of the Santirbazar sub-division. As soon as I lost my job, I joined the Communist Party of India. I am happy that the party has given me the opportunity to fight the polls this time,” he told EastMojo.

Reang also explained that by nominating his name as a candidate for the ensuing elections, the Left Front clarified what it wants to do for the retrenched teachers.

Also Read | Tripura 2023: BJP promised a lot in 2018; delivered precious little 

“I am a representative of the victimized 10,323 teachers. If elected to the state assembly, I shall try to bring a private member resolution about my colleagues in distress. We have seen a lot of politics surrounding our plight. But no one has come up with a solution. Our protests shall get a legislative voice if people from our fraternity get elected to the assembly,” said Reang.

When asked about the BJP’s promise of a permanent solution and recently formed advisory committee, he said, “They can say anything. They can even bring the moon down on the earth for winning elections. In the last five years, we have realised that by using the word “permanent solution” to our problem, they wanted to tell us that the only solution is termination from our jobs. And, for the last three years, all of us are roaming with the tag of sacked teachers prefixed with our names.”

According to Reang, CPI leader Durgajoy Reang inspired him to join the party. Recently, video footage of the CPI candidate went viral as he reached the local BJP party office during campaigning and sought the blessings of BJP workers sitting in the office.

Also Read | Tripura 2023: Is the Cong-CPIM alliance already in trouble?  

“Our party believes in democracy. People have different opinions, which is why political parties of different ideologies exist in the political system. Just because I am a CPI member and fighting elections does not mean I should misbehave with other party workers. We have seen brothers, sisters and relatives of the same family indulging in fatal conflicts because of politics. Violence should be prevented to establish a clean and transparent system of governance,” Reang told EastMojo.

Sudip Sarkar, another sacked teacher among the 10,323, is pitted by the CPIM against sitting BJP MLA Dr Dilip Kumar Das from the Barjala assembly constituency located in the suburbs of Agartala city.

Unlike Reang, Sarkar was a dedicated CPIM worker before getting the job. “I started my professional career with a job in Tripura State Rifles in the year 1997. But, I have to quit the job due to certain issues. In 2002, I joined the CPIM. Incidentally, I got the teaching job in 2010 but after ten years of service, the service life came to an end. So, I have again switched back to politics and thus I got the opportunity to be a candidate in these elections,” he said.

Also Read | Tripura: Protesting job aspirants lathi-charged again, over 50 injured

When asked about the teachers, he said, “I am quite sure that if I am elected from my assembly area, I will take up the issue in the state assembly. Nowadays, all the teachers who lost jobs in my constituency and beyond that have extended their support towards me. And, I have also appealed to each and every 10,323 teachers to support the candidates of the secular democratic front constituted by Left parties and the Congress.”

Referring to the manifesto of the Left Front, Sarkar said, “Our party has clearly stated that those who among the 10,323 teachers are still in search of sustainable livelihood options would be reinstated in services. The families of the victim teachers who have left us would also be helped financially. Besides, several teachers suffering from multiple health conditions would also be helped from our end.”

However, this direct political association of both teachers has divided the leaders of the joint movement. While a faction of the teachers is working in favour of the Left-Congress alliance responding to the appeal of Sarkar, the other faction describes the retrenchment of 10,323 teachers as a “miscarriage of justice” and the fault of the CPIM.

Also Read | Tripura: Job aspirants, sacked teachers protest in front of education directorate

Kamal Deb, a leader of the 10,323 teachers’ movement said, “We are very happy to see people from our fraternity fighting elections. My platform of the 10,323 teacher movement will extend full support and cooperation to the Left candidates contesting the polls.”

On the other hand, Pradip Banik, leader of another faction of the movement that recently organised a two-month-long hunger strike in Agartala, has a different take.

“Those who are contesting the polls, we congratulate them from our end but we are a little sceptical about the promise of the CPIM party. In the Supreme Court and High Court judgments, it was clear that the jobs of over 400 teachers were challenged and the Court in its ruling clarified that the effect of the judgment will be prospective. We have been terminated unlawfully when the Left was in power and due to utter misinterpretation of the Court verdicts. The Supreme Court RTI also re-established our point. Against this backdrop, we are not fully convinced with the CPIM’s manifesto promises for 10,323 teachers,” Banik told EastMojo.

When contacted for a comment, BJP state spokesman Nabendu Bhattacharjee said, “the problem of 10,323 teachers has been created by the Left. The recruitment was challenged by some aspirants who got support from Congress. And, now Congress and CPIM are together promising jobs. It looks quite astonishing and intriguing at the same time.”

Retired Justice AB Paul who had recently submitted his opinion to the state Chief Secretary of Tripura after an advisory committee was constituted had supported the point raised by teacher activist Pradip Banik. He said, “The government just needs to release a notification to restore the services of 10,323 teachers. In the Court orders, it was clear that the jobs of only 462 teachers were challenged. The rest of the 9,861 teachers have been sacked unlawfully.”   

Also Read | Tripura: Protesting teachers face police action, 45 detained