Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress is livid with the Centre for putting a “spoke” in Mamata Banerjee Government’s efforts to recruit 50,000 Group D staff before next year’s Assembly elections, officials say.
The small recommendation by the Centre on recruitment process of the menial staff could deprive the Trinamool Congress of a big political advantage.
Though the Centre has green-signaled the State to go ahead with the recruitment process it has advised it to do the recruitment through written-and-personality-test instead of only formal interviews apparently making it difficult for the ruling party mandarins to induct Trianmool workers in Government jobs, insiders said.
Though the advisory is not binding on the State it would be difficult for debt-ridden Bengal Government to arrange the salary of the new recruits because ignoring New Delhi’s recommendations could mean embargo on central funds.
The State would need a monthly Rs80 crore plus to pay the basic salary of the newly employed staff. Add to this the 37,000 teachers the Government is drafting in a couple of months. With the State’s finance being in a poor state, the Kolkata’s dependence on Delhi for salary funds has become all the more evident.
“It will be difficult but the Government is planning to go ahead with the decision. After all it is the people’s money that will go back to the people in shape of salary,” an official parrots Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wondering “where will the common man go if the Government does not provide them with jobs at a time when industries are not coming the way they should have.”
Funds apart the Trinamool Government has another problem to face. Already the opposition parties have raised a hue and cry protesting against the policy of direct recruitment of the employees through interviews which may leave a lot of scope for preferential treatment for the candidates showing allegiance to the ruling outfit.