Cong attacks BJP govt in UP over ‘police action’ against protesting students

The Congress on Tuesday, 12 November, alleged that police in Prayagraj lathi-charged students raising their voice against the "arbitrariness" of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) and claimed that earlier also attempts have been made to suppress the voice of the youth demanding jobs.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it is unfortunate that "lathi charge" was done on students protesting for their demands in Prayagraj.

The students raising their voice against the "arbitrariness" of the UPPSC should be heard carefully, he said in a post in Hindi on X.

"This is not the first time that BJP is trying to suppress the voice of youth in this way. Earlier also, attempts have been made to suppress their voice for demanding jobs or protesting against recruitment scams and paper leaks," Ramesh claimed.

Understanding these problems of the youth, the Congress party had talked about taking concrete initiatives under the Yuva Nyay Guarantee, he said.

"Under this, we had made five promises, including guarantee of immediate permanent appointment on 30 lakh government posts, freedom from paper leaks and timely recruitment through a job calendar," Ramesh said.

Aspirants protesting against the UPPSC decision to conduct the RO-ARO and PCS preliminary examinations on different dates laid siege to the UPPSC headquarters in Prayagraj on Monday, staging a sit-in even as a large posse of police personnel tried to disperse the agitators.

Policemen deployed in and around the UPPSC office tried to stop the students from reaching gate number two but the large crowd jostled their way through, raising slogans against the Commission.

The police even chased the crowd in order to disperse them but the agitating students soon gathered again, defying the barricades put up on the roads to stop them from marching ahead.

The aspirants gathered there till late on Monday evening, lighting the torch of their mobile phones to express their solidarity, holding placards that read "we will not divide, we will not leave, we will remain united until we get justice", and "one day, one exam".

Condemning the police "highhandedness", Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had also termed the BJP government in the state "anti-youth" and "anti-student".

Amid the agitation of aspirants, the UPPSC on Monday said maintaining exam integrity and ensuring candidate convenience are its top priorities.

Addressing concerns raised by some candidates about the normalisation process, a Commission spokesperson stated that to uphold the sanctity of its examinations and safeguard students' futures, exams are conducted exclusively at centres where the possibility of irregularities is entirely eliminated.

The spokesperson noted that in the past, various irregularities have surfaced at remote examination centres, creating uncertainty for the deserving students.

To prevent this and ensure a merit-based examination process, such centres have now been removed, he added.

In a statement, the spokesperson announced that to ensure the integrity and quality of examinations, only government or funded educational institutions located within a 10-km radius of a bus stand, railway station or treasury, and with no history of suspicion, controversy or blacklisting, are being designated as examination centres.

This arrangement has been implemented in response to the demands of candidates for maintaining exam purity and quality. To maintain the integrity and quality of examinations, it is essential to hold them in multiple shifts when there are over 5,00,000 candidates, he added.

Consequently, the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) Preliminary Examination will be conducted over two days, on 7 and 8 December, while the Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) Preliminary Examination 2023 will be held in three shifts on 22 and 23 December.