Anti- UPSC stir boils, Parliament in uproar

No injustice to students on basis of language, govt pledges in House

Amid protests by UPSC aspirants and an uproar in both Houses of Parliament over regional language aspirants having a disadvantage in the civil services exam, the BJP government pledged Friday it will not allow any injustice to students on the basis of language but refused to give a timeframe to resolve the issue. Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha that the problem facing students was one created by the previous UPA gov- ernment which had modified the civil services examination pattern in 2010.

Mr Singh said the government was looking at the issue with “all seriousness” and sensitivity and a three- member panel set up to examine this matter was again asked on Friday to submit its report within a week. The issue rocked Parliament again as a united Opposition demanded a solution within a clear timeframe and sought a rollback of the admit cards issued by the UPSC for the coming examination. “The government is not in favour of any injustice to students on the basis of language,” the minister said in the Rajya Sabha, that was adjourned twice during Question Hour after the Opposition demand for a clarification by either the Prime Minister or the Leader of the House.

Mr Singh appealed to the

Continued from Page 1 IAS aspirants to be “patient”, saying the government and the Prime Minister were more concerned than the agitating students and were trying to find a “satisfactory solution”.

JD( U) leader Sharad Yadav alleged in the Rajya Sabha that language students were facing discrimination in the UPSC exams, while SP boss Mulayam Singh Yadav urged the Speaker in the Lok Sabha to allow a discussion on the issue. In the Raya Sabha, the Congress said the government should show seriousness in resolving the issue and said it was ready to take up the fight on behalf of the UPSC aspirants both in Parliament and outside. The ruling party MPs alleged that the Congress was to blame for the mess. “Kare koi, bhare koi,” BJP MP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said. In the Rajya Sabha, Congress MP M. S. Gill disagreed with his own party’s stand in favour of regional languages in the UPSC exam, but Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad quickly clarified that it was Mr Gill’s personal view. All other parties, including the AIADMK, CPI( M), Trinamul and DMK, supported equal weight being given to Hindi and all regional languages in the exam.

The aspirants are protesting against the pattern of the Civil Services Aptitude Test in the UPSC exam that they believe gives an unfair advantage to English- speaking students while leaving Hindi and region- al language aspirants at a disadvantage.

The agitating aspirants tried to march towards Parliament but were stopped by the police, which later took them into preventive custody. The protesters, who had clashed with the police near Delhi University on Thursday night, were stopped outside the Central Secretariat metro station, from where they were taken to the Parliament Street police station.

“We have detained around 150 protesters. Necessary preventive action will be taken if needed,” said a senior Delhi police official. Two metro stations — Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhavan — were shut briefly to prevent the protesters reaching near Parliament House.