Job aspirants, who were earlier upset with the BRS government for cancelling the TGPSC exams in 2022 and 2023, are now seething at Congress. The Congress had capitalised on the earlier discontent to sway young aspirant voters in the 2023 December polls.
Published Oct 18, 2024 | 11:20 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 18, 2024 | 1:36 PM
Ashok Nagar in Hyderabad witnessed a massive protest by job aspirants preparing for the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) Group-1 Mains exam, slated for 21 October.
#Telangana: Group-1 mains aspirants are protesting at Ashok Nagar demanding that the government postpone the examinations scheduled to begin on 21 October. They are demanding that the government rectify its errors in the earlier exams where the rule of reservation was not… pic.twitter.com/W1Of5yO8PI
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) October 16, 2024
The protesters demanded the TGPSC postpone the mains exams, citing the changes made through a government order (GO 29) in February. As the protest gathered steam, the police detained several protesters.
Job aspirants, who were earlier upset with the BRS government for cancelling the TGPSC exams in 2022 and 2023, are now opposing the Congress.
The Congress had capitalised on the earlier discontent to sway young aspirant voters in the 2023 December polls. The aspirants now feel betrayed.
In April 2022, the BRS government issued GO 55 detailing the scheme and pattern for the TGSPC (then TSSPC) examinations. However, the exams held in October 2022 were cancelled in March 2023 due to a question paper leak.
Subsequently, the June 2023 TGSPC re-exam was also cancelled following errors in the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets due to as students raised concerns regarding the exams’s proceedings. The government notified that they would collect biometric data from the candidates. However, they failed to follow through, not priniting the biometric data or the prescribes hall ticket numbers and photographs of the candidates, This led to the high court ordering a re-exam once again.
The TGPSC exams postponement became a cause for concern for job aspirants across Telangana. In the 2023 state polls, it was a key election issue.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had then assured the TGPSC candidate a job calendar if the Congress came to power. Following its victory in the polls, securing 64 of 118 seats, the Congress released a job calendar in August.
However, in February, the Telangana government issued GO 29, amending GO 55. This caused much consternation among the aspirants, who were concerned over two primary implications: The constitutionality of the omission of reservations and the status of the examinees if the courts strike GO 29 down.
Essentially, GO 29 amended a para in the Pattern of Examination listed in GO 55. Laying down the number of admissions to the mains exam, it specified that the vacancies to candidates ratio must be 1:50.
GO 55 detailed that the state shall duly follow the rule of reservations for the various categories prescribed under General Rules 22 and 22A of the Telangana State and Subordinate Services Rules (1996).
GO 29 retained the first part of the para, amending the second. “Shortfall in respect of candidates in reserved categories as laid down in rules 22 & 22 A of the Telangana State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1996, action shall be taken to include such number of candidates from the merit list beyond 1:50 ratio, as required to meet the shortfall in the respective categories.”
This implied that if there was a shortfall of candidates deserving reservation1, the government could fill the vacancies from the merit list. The aspirants believed that this undercut the constitutional ideal of reservations, by providing an unfair advantage to more privileged communities in the merit lists.
The Telangana State and Subordinate Service Rules (1996) have two rules, 22 and 22A, which specify the reservation policies in the state services.
Rule 22 details roster points allotted to each category of reservation to ensure proportional representation. Using the 200-roster point scale meant for upwards of 14 cadres, it listed about 106 categories.
Meanwhile, 22A detailed the policy for the reservation for women in appointments. It mandated that at least 33.3 percent was reserved for females.
After GO 29 was issued, the aspirants took the Telangana government to court, challenging its validity.
They cited an instance in Madhya Pradesh, where the Supreme Court upheld the decision to strike down a similar amendment in 2023.
“Even if it’s at the end of the year, or in two or five years, we aspirants believe that the court will not uphold the amendment in GO 29. We are worried about what’ll happen to us when it comes to fruition,” an aspirant, who did not identify himself, explained.
“It is against the spirit of the constitution to alter the reservations,” he added.
“We are protesting against GO 29, which violates the rule of reservation for SC/STs and BCs,” Jhansi, a Hyderabad resident preparing for the last three years, said.
“However, the high court’s order didn’t second our concerns, it allowed for the exams to proceed,” she continued.
Jhansi revealed that there was no screening for whether or not the applicant was a local in the May notifications, raising concerns about the implementation of the 95 percent local reservation.
The May Group 1 notification didn’t specify a re-examination as per the court’s judgement. Rather, it was a cancellation of the re-exam, replacing it with a fresh process to recruit candidates for 563 posts as opposed to the original 503.
“The protests involved over 300 aspirants who came together peacefully. We don’t know why the police intervened,” Jhansi said.
“They detained 11 male and six women protestors at 8:30 pm, taking us to the Begambazar police station. We were let out at 11:30 pm,” she said.
Following the protests on 16 October, the aspirants began lobbying for support, seeking a solution to their grievances. They approached the BRS, particularly KT Rama Rao, to help them get justice.
“After the cancellation of the first two TGSPC exams, we brought the Congress to power. We now regret it,” an aspirant told reporters.
Rama Rao met the job aspirants at his residence on 17 October. The aspirants addressed the media at the party headquarters, Telangana Bhavan, where they reiterated that they would continue the fight and sought support.
Additionally, a delegation of the aspirants also approached the newly-appointed Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Goud. On the evening of 17 October, he took to X to ensure the aspirants that their grievances about GO 29 had been duly communicated.
Had an insightful meeting with Group-1 aspirants today at Gandhi Bhavan. They shared their concerns about exam schedules and the impact of certain GOs.
I understand that aspirants have already suffered due to delays in notifications and paper leakages under the previous… pic.twitter.com/i09vcSVR4P
— Bomma Maheshkumar goud (@Bmaheshgoud6666) October 17, 2024
The aspirants are seeking support from across the political spectrum. Additionally, Indra Naik, another aspirant, left for Delhi on the evening of 17 September to file a Public Interest Litigation at the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary A Shanthi Kumari held a videoconference with the district collectors and police officers to discuss the arrangements for the upcoming exams.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
