Kolkata, 25 May (H.S.): Hundreds of job aspirants gathered at the Bharatiya Janata Party state office in Salt Lake on Monday during the ‘Janata Darbar’ programme, seeking an audience with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari over pending recruitment and employment-related issues.

Long queues of aspirants were seen outside the party office since morning, prompting security personnel to struggle with crowd management. According to sources, representatives of nearly 15 organisations of job aspirants attended the programme.

The delegations included candidates who claimed to have suffered due to alleged recruitment irregularities, as well as representatives of the 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order. The groups urged the Chief Minister to take immediate steps to resolve their issues.

After assuming office, Suvendu Adhikari had announced the launch of the ‘Janata Darbar’ initiative to directly hear public grievances and address administrative concerns. The BJP stated that the Chief Minister would remain available every Monday between 9 am and 11 am at the Salt Lake party office to interact with citizens.

Many aspirants arrived hours before the Chief Minister’s scheduled visit. One candidate said they had come with “great hope,” alleging that repeated attempts to meet the previous Chief Minister had failed. The aspirant claimed that Suvendu Adhikari had stood beside them even before becoming Chief Minister and that direct interaction was now possible under the new administration.

The aspirants demanded justice for deserving candidates among those who lost their jobs and urged the government to ensure transparent recruitment.

Senior BJP leaders, including Locket Chatterjee and Shashi Agnihotri, were also present during the programme. The Chief Minister reportedly held closed-door discussions with representatives of the job aspirants.

A similar ‘Janata Darbar’ had also been organised last Monday, drawing a large number of people seeking solutions to civic and administrative grievances. Several attendees had then expressed satisfaction at getting direct access to the Chief Minister.

The BJP, which came to power in West Bengal with a decisive mandate, had made alleged recruitment scams under the previous Trinamool Congress government a major election issue. Political observers are now closely watching the steps the new government takes regarding employment and recruitment-related disputes.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey