Mamata Shuts Down Para Teachers Mid-Protest: Not Here, Not Now

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday rebuked a group of protesting parateachers who attempted to raise their demands during her ongoing dharna in central Kolkata. The protest took place at the Esplanade, where Banerjee had staged a demonstration against alleged discrepancies in the voter rolls during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision process.

Banerjee sharply criticised the teachers for interrupting the demonstration, telling them to “do politics at some other place". The Chief Minister was addressing supporters and party workers when the situation turned tense after a group of parateachers gathered near the dharna stage and began raising slogans about their long-pending demands. Their protest briefly disrupted the programme and drew the attention of the large gathering at the venue.

The agitating teachers were protesting under the banner of the Para Teacher Unity Manch. They demanded an increase in their salaries, claiming that the state government had earlier assured them that their honorarium would be raised. Para teachers in West Bengal have been staging protests for several years, seeking better pay, job security, and regularisation of their positions in the state’s education system.

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As tensions escalated near the dharna site, the chief minister directed police to remove the protesters from the area. Acting on the instructions, security personnel detained several of the agitators to restore order and ensure that the demonstration could continue without further disruption. The police intervention quickly brought the situation under control.

However, the detained protesters were released within a few hours, according to officials. Authorities said the brief detention was intended only to maintain law and order during the chief minister's programme and prevent any escalation at the crowded protest site in central Kolkata.

Banerjee’s dharna itself was organised to protest alleged large-scale deletions of names from West Bengal’s voter rolls during the Special Intensive Revision conducted by the Election Commission of India. The issue has sparked political debate in the state, with the ruling party accusing authorities of irregularities while opposition leaders have defended the revision process as part of routine electoral procedures.

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