Prayagraj Protest: Job Aspirants Continue Their Protest Despite Govt Accepting Demands

Prayagraj Protest: The protesters laid siege to the UPPSC headquarters on Monday by staging a sit-in even as police personnel tried to disperse them.

The protesters laid siege to the UPPSC headquarters on Monday by staging a sit-in.

Source : PTI

The government job aspirants in Prayagraj continued their protest against the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) demanding changes in the schedule of the upcoming exams. The students gathered outside the UPPSC office and broke barricades to reach the gate of the office and voice their concerns.

The UPPSC, in an order on Thursday evening, announced accepting the demands of the protesting students and postponed the Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) exams. It also announced to hold the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) preliminary exam on the old pattern and formed a committee on RO and ARO exams. 

#WATCH | Prayagraj Protests | Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission to conduct the preliminary examination in one day. A committee has been formed by the Commission for RO/ARO (Pre.) Examination-2023. The committee will consider all aspects and submit its detailed report soon:… pic.twitter.com/ZQ5chwUN07

— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2024

However, the UPPSC's move has failed to pacify the protesting students with the protesters accusing the state service commission of trying to break up the agitation.

The students are protesting against the UPPSC's decision to conduct the RO-ARO and PCS preliminary examinations on two different dates, demanding a rollback to the earlier practice of holding the tests on a single day. The students argued that the shift system creates an unfair advantage for some students and the difficulty level of the exam may vary between shifts.

The protesters laid siege to the UPPSC headquarters on Monday by staging a sit-in even as a large posse of police personnel tried to disperse them.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is also expected to join the students' protest on Thursday. However, there is no confirmation from the party if he would be joining the students in their protest.

In a post on X, Akhilesh Yadav said, "If the arrogant BJP government thinks that by removing the protesting candidates from the front of UPPSC in Allahabad, it will put an end to the democratic movement of the youth fighting for their rights, then this is its 'big mistake'. Movements are fought with the mind, not the body, and so far the world has not developed such a power that can take the mind under custody. United we win."

भाजपा की अहंकारी सरकार अगर ये सोच रही है कि वो इलाहाबाद में UPPSC के सामने से आंदोलनकारी अभ्यर्थियों को हटाकर, युवाओं के अपने हक़ के लिए लड़े जा रहे लोकतांत्रिक आंदोलन को ख़त्म कर देगी, तो ये उसकी ‘महा-भूल’ है। आंदोलन तन से नहीं मन से लड़े जाते हैं और अभी तक वो ताक़त दुनिया में…

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) November 14, 2024

The district magistrate and the police commissioner held a meeting late on Monday. However, it remained inconclusive, sources told PTI.

Most of the protesters, including women, spent the night under the open sky while those who had gone home returned on Tuesday morning to join the agitation at the commission's gate.

UPPSC Secretary Ashok Kumar came out twice to reason with the students who remained firm on their demand for 'one day, one exam', Ganesh Singh, one of the protesters, said. "If the Union Public Service Commission can conduct exams on a single day, why can't the UPPSC do the same, he asked.

UPPSC Secretary Ashok Kumar, meanwhile said, "As per the commission's guidelines, only government institutions within a 10-km radius of the district headquarters are used as examination centres. Previously, the same students were against using private institutions as exam centres due to concerns over security and paper leaks."

Underlining the logistical challenges, Kumar said, A total of 576,000 candidates have registered for the PCS exam, while centres are available for only 435,000 students across all the 75 districts. Under these circumstances, holding the exams over two days is unavoidable.    

RSS' student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) said in a statement that in light of the concerns raised by the aspirants, the UPPSC should take prompt steps to address their issues. The ABVP demands the UPPSC to promptly resolve the students' concerns.