West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu met protesting teaching job aspirants here on Monday, and addressed their concerns about alleged irregularities in the recruitment process against which they have been agitating.

The aspirants, who have been protesting on Mayo Road for nearly three years, claim to have successfully cleared the recruitment test in 2014, and demand immediate placement in government-sponsored and government-aided primary schools.

"We are hopeful of a breakthrough... That after 1,000 days, the government will deliver justice. Despite clearing the exams, we have been deprived due to irregularities and corruption," one of the protesters said.

Last year, the agitators had met Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who, along with Basu and the party’s state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, assured them of justice.

The opposition BJP, however, dismissed Basu’s efforts to engage with the protesters on Monday as an election ploy ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

"As the Lok Sabha elections are knocking at the door, the TMC is trying various tricks to stem the anger of the protesters," BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

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