The, today urged the dismissed teachers—rendered jobless by the Supreme Court verdict—to exercise restraint and refrain from taking the law into their own hands.

“The government is working tirelessly to validate their appointments. It has already moved the Supreme Court seeking clarification on the operative part of its order and is also in the process of filing a review petition with the apex court in due course. The government stands with them on humanitarian grounds,” Mr Pant said at a press conference at Nabanna today.

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Referring to stray incidents of violence that occurred in various districts, Mr Pant said that the events were completely undesirable. He noted that police resorted to lathi charge after teachers tried to forcibly enter the DI office at Kasba.

When asked to comment on the incident where police launched a lathi charge against the agitating teachers, the chief secretary said: “The incident was entirely undesirable—particularly at a time when chief minister Mamata Banerjee had assured deserving teachers of the government’s support. I urge everyone to exercise restraint and not take the law into their own hands.”

While calling today’s incidents unfortunate, Mr Pant, defended the police action. “If the situation spirals out of control and police personnel are harmed in the process, then law enforcement is compelled to act to restore order,” he stated.

City police commissioner Manoj Verma, who was also present at the press conference, was asked about a video clip showing a police officer allegedly kicking a protesting teacher at the Kasba DI office. He responded: “That incident is regrettable and is under investigation. Senior officers are currently on-site. If there is any misconduct, action will be taken once the report is submitted. The footage shown might be a partial clip. Some of our personnel were injured in the process.”

Meanwhile, Bratya Basu, the state education minister, advised the dismissed teachers to remain patient. He announced plans to convene a meeting with all stakeholders, including the affected teachers, later this week.

“You can’t have a meeting on one hand and resort to violence on the other. They must remain patient,” Mr Basu said.