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Lucknow Police lathi-charge on teachers protesting over job irregularities
In a video clip shared by Samajwadi Party (SP), the Uttar Pradesh Police in Lucknow was seen chasing protestors and beating them with lathis.
Lucknow police on Saturday evening broke up a group of peaceful protesters using lathicharge for holding a candlelight march over the alleged irregularities in the 2019 Uttar Pradesh teachers' entrance test by recruiting 69,000 assistant teachers.
The protesters were demonstrating at a prominent junction headed towards chief minister Yogi Adityanath's residence.
A video clip of the incident where the police were seen chasing and beating up the demonstrators was shared by Samajwadi Party on their Twitter handle.
“The CM who denied reservation to Dalit and backward communities during the recruitment of 69,000 assistant school teachers, is now lashing out on them with lathis. Amid a peaceful candle march of the 69,000 teacher recruitment candidates, the police started lathi charge is sad and shameful! The youth unemployed will be revolutionized, there will be a change in twenty," the tweet read.
Many teachers were injured during the lathicharge and the incident was criticised by former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Matawati.
"Under BJP rule, the path is being paved to become 'Vishwa Guru' by lathi-charging the future teachers. We are with the demands of 69,000 teacher recruitment," the SP chief tweeted.
In 2019, Uttar Pradesh held a mega recruitment drive and examination for the hiring of 69,000 assistant school teachers. However, the entire process was soon marred with allegations of bias and irregularities, including on allocation of quotas in the merit list of those selected.
As a result, candidates belonging to scheduled caste and OBC categories have been protesting for the past two years,
