Parthsarathi Maiti, a TMC councillor from Tamluk Municipality in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, has sparked controversy with a viral video. Filmed in a bare room, Maiti performs squats while holding his ears—a traditional gesture of self-punishment—apologising for his party’s silence in the massive school recruitment scam. “Our district leaders took money but are not speaking up,” he declares, pointing fingers at TMC leaders for enabling illegal teacher appointments in 2016.

Maiti’s video targets the inaction of TMC’s leadership, claiming they’ve allowed BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, a former TMC member, to gain political ground. “Suvendu Babu is giving big speeches because our leadership is silent,” he says, alleging some TMC leaders in Purba Medinipur shielded the scam’s “kingpin” despite knowing their identity. The Supreme Court cancelled nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching jobs in April, declaring the 2016 recruitment process “tainted beyond redemption.”

The West Bengal School Service Commission recently released a list of 1,804 disqualified candidates, fuelling outrage as names tied to TMC functionaries reportedly surfaced. Maiti’s video, unverified by PTI, claims Purba Medinipur’s leaders facilitated these illegal hires and now protect the mastermind.

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Adhikari, who joined BJP in 2020, denied involvement, stating, “None of my relatives or associates are on the disqualified list.” BJP’s Shabari Chakraborty dismissed Maiti’s actions as “theatrics for attention”, while former TMC district president Tapan Bandopadhyay called it a deflection, insisting, “The masterminds are in TMC.”

TMC distanced itself from Maiti, with district president Sujit Roy slamming his remarks as “irresponsible” for a lawyer.

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