Protests against UPPSC reservation policy spread to Lucknow: HC to hear petition today

Even as protests against Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission's new reservation policy spread to other parts of Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad high court will hear a petition against it on Monday.

Even as protests against Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission's new reservation policy spread to other parts of Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad high court will hear a petition against it on Monday.

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On May 27, 2013 a proposal was put forward by UPPSC member Gurdarshan Singh, which said, "The UPPSC from 1994 has been inviting a given number of applicants for interviews against the vacancies advertised for reserved candidates (SC/ST/OBC) but for the recruitments against unreserved (UR) seats, only general category candidates are called and students belonging to reserved categories are left out. Thus UR category seats have been implied as those belonging only to general candidates which is against the Reservation Act, 1994."

He added, "Actually, UR vacancies do not belong to any category and candidates belonging to all the categories should be called for interviews under the UR category."

This proposal was put forward in a meeting presided by UPPSC chairman Anil Kumar Yadav and it was accepted thereto on May 27.

This decision by UPPSC to open unreserved seats for both reserved category and general category bounced back on it after aspirants preparing for various competitive examinations took to the streets, staging a massive road blockade and restricting movements of traffic on national highway for over six hours on July 10.

The demonstration was followed by indefinite hunger strike from July 11 and filing a petition against reservation at the Allahabad high court on the same day. Rampage and ruckus shook the city on July 15. The agitation is still continuing even as the court hears a petition against it today.

While additional police force has been deployed in Allahabad, the agitation has now spread in Lucknow and other parts of the state as well.

What are candidates apprehensive about?

The new reservation policy makes reservations a three-tier process where reservation policy will be enforced at every stage of exams for PCS (Provincial Civil Service) including prelims, mains and interviews. The step will result in minimal representation of general category candidates in the final selection.

The general category aspirants have questioned the amendment, stating only state legislature could make amendments in the existing regulations of UPPSC and the reservation is against the true spirit of the Constitution and the Supreme Court judgment in Indra Sahani case in 1974.

UPPSC took this decision after conducting examinations smoothly for 20 years.