Mamata meets aspiring teachers on fast, assures step after

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met agitating aspiring school teachers Wednesday, the 28th day of their relay hunger strike, and assured them to look into their demands after the Lok Sabha elections.

She also urged them to withdraw their stir but the agitators said they will continue with the dharna till they receive a written assurance.

Around 200 aspiring school teachers were on relay hunger strike for 28 days demanding recruitment to vacant posts in state-run institutes.

"I am helpless at the moment and cannot do anything right now because of election model code of conduct. We have to frame a policy to resolve the demands. Please give me time," Banerjee told the agitating aspiring teachers.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections in the state will begin on April 11 and results will be announced on May 23.

The chief minister said she will ask Education Minister Partha Chatterjee to look into their demands after the election process is over.

The agitators, however, were unhappy with the verbal assurance of the chief minister as they were expecting a written assurance from an officer.

They were claiming that a large number of teachers' posts were lying vacant but the authorities were not calling them for interview though they have the requisite qualifications.

"We can not withdraw our agitation unless and until we get an assurance from an officer in writing. Meeting of the five-member committee appointed by the education minister and our delegation will begin tomorrow. Let us see," an agitator told PTI.

Education Minister Partha Chatterjee Friday met representatives of the aspiring teachers and announced that a five-member committee was formed to look into their demands.

The agitators were on dharna and relay fast since February 28 under the banner of the SSC Yuva-Chhatra Adhikar Manch.

The CPI(M) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students' wing of the RSS, have backed their demands.