J&K: BSF, CISF Aspirants’ Protest Crosses 60 Days, Accuse BJP Minister of False Assurances
Image Courtesy: Kashmir Pen
For the last two months, BSF and CISF aspirants have been protesting outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Jammu’s Trikuta Nagar demanding job in paramilitary personnel forces. The protesters, who have cleared all the rounds required to obtain the job, have accused the BJP of “deceiving” them with false assurances.
Speaking to NewsClick, one of the protesters, Karamjeet Verma from Jammu’s Kathua district said, “During elections, they only talk about providing employment, where is employment now? It has been two months, no one from the BJP office has come to us asking about our grievances.”
The protesting students have also raised serious allegations against Union Minister and BJP member Jitendra Singh saying that he had promised to increase the vacancies given they voted for the BJP in the District Development Council elections held last year.
“The reason we wanted an increase in the vacancies was that more than two years had passed for completing the recruitment process, and many students had crossed their age limit. We met Singh and were assured that if we voted for BJP, 2,000 new vacancies will be added,” said Neeraj from Doda district.
When the notification for the recruitment of 1,356 constables in BSF and CISF was issued in 2018, lakhs of aspirants from Jammu and Kashmir had applied for the posts. Amid this, the demand for posts was raised and assurance for the same had been made by Singh. However, in February 2021, the final list of the selected candidates was rolled out for only 1,356 candidates instead of the assured added 2,000 posts. This led the remaining aspirants who had cleared the final round to begin their protest outside the BJP office, which has continued even now.
“We have been waiting for the last three years for the selection process which should have taken six months at the most and now, we are not in the list even after clearing the rounds,” said Neeraj.
Also read: Jammu: ‘No Jobs for 45, How Will They Rehabilitate Six Lakh?’ Ask Protesting KPs
The protesters have also accused the administration of setting extremely high merit rate. “It is a constable post and you are keeping high merit so that students are left out. It took almost three years, we have even crossed the age to apply for next selection process. Who will compensate for that?,” asked a protester from Rajouri requesting anonymity.
In its DDC polls election manifesto, BJP had promised to provide 70,000 jobs with 100% reservation for local residents while also ensuring private sector employment, industry-friendly policy and a clean, transparent and accountable administration in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Where are these jobs? We are protesting outside BJP’s office and they remain unmoved. Was it only for DDC polls?,” questioned one of the protesters.
Last month, a few protesters had been detained, only to be released later while the others continued protesting even when the police tried to disperse them. The detention had elicited sharp reactions from the opposition parties who accused the government of adopting “anti-youth” policies. The protesters told NewsClick that they have been accused of taking money from the opposition parties to malign BJP’s image.
“We cleared all the rounds required for the job. We voted for BJP. We did everything they wanted and now they are accusing us of taking money? Just take a look at our condition, how we are protesting on tattered mats. We are here for jobs,” said Neeraj.
Even as their protest crosses 60 days, the aspirants are determined to carry on the agitation till their demands are not fulfilled.
“Either, Jitendra Singh should come out in the public and say that he lied about increasing the vacancy for votes. That way his real face will be exposed. Otherwise, they should make arrangement to absorb (the rest of the applicants who have cleared the exams). They are servants of public, why aren’t they coming to meet us? Are they afraid of youth who want to serve the nation?,” asked Karamjeet.
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