By TwoCircles.net Staff reporter,
Mumbai: Even when the final interviews were conducted in July and December last year, the Maharashtra Public Services Commission (MPSC) has not announced the result for the posts of lecturers and assistant professors of Urdu language.
Alleging negligence by MPSC towards Urdu section, candidates and activists have claimed that the Commission is unnecessarily holding back the results for Urdu posts while result for other languages has been already declared. The Commission, however, has denied there is any discrimination.
(Courtesy: IE)
The Commission had called for applications for 25 posts of lecturers and assistant professors in colleges (Grade level ‘A’). A written exam was held for 25 different languages and categories and subsequently merit list of successful candidates was announced on the Commission’s website. Interviews of 12 merit lists candidates from Urdu language category were held in Nagpur on July 21, 2014. For reasons not known, the Commission announced six more merit lists candidates for the same category on November 27, 2014 and held their interviews too on December 15, 2014.
Ever since, these total 18 candidates are awaiting the results. Incidentally, the Commission has declared results for all the categories although their interviews were held after Urdu language candidates.
Rajib Shaikh, one of a social worker from Akola, who is following this issue, said: “I checked results for all categories and could find results for all languages except that of Urdu. I tried to get a reason for non- declaration of Urdu language results from the MPSC, but no satisfactory reason was provided by it.”
The Commission, however, said there were some technical hurdles due to which results were not out but it will soon display the results on its website as that obstacle has been removed. Kasarkar, an MPSC officer, told TwoCircles.net, “We are holding back the results because we were working on SC/ST Commission’s resolution of considering women and sports quota in the appointment. We had written to the state government in November last year for clarification and were waiting to hear from it.”
“We received the government’s letter in this regard on February 23 advising us to follow SC/ST guidelines. Now, we shall declare the result very soon,” he added.
On the question of apparent discrimination by Commission towards Urdu language category, Kasarkar evaded the question and just said: “There is no discrimination towards any particular category. There were some other posts, results for which too were not announced due to the hurdle I mentioned earlier.”
But he did not provide any details about which other results were withheld.
TwoCircles.net spoke with three candidates, who have been interviewed by the Commission last year and are awaiting results. They expressed their feelings on condition of anonymity fearing if they speak on record, then it may hamper their chances of appointment by the MPSC.
“If there were hurdles in announcing results, then why did the Commission hold subsequent interviews of six more candidates in December?” asked one of a candidate, adding, “We can smell clear discrimination by the Commission.”
Another said, “I wonder how come there are such hurdles only for Urdu language posts? Because, out of 25 different categories, the Commission announced results for all others except Urdu category.”
“We are caught in such a situation that we cannot even try (for a job) at other places. What will we do if MPSC suddenly announces the results? We are in a difficult position and the Commission is not bothered about our future,” he said.
A woman candidate has a totally different story to tell. Her parents want to organise her marriage but cannot do so before the MPSC announces the result. “There is a foul play by the Commission. It has no reason to hold back results,” she said, alleging, “When our parents call the Commission to enquire about our results, they never get satisfactory results but keep telling to wait for couple of weeks for the results.”
Activist Shaikh charged the BJP-led state government for deliberately withholding the results “so that strength of students reduces in Urdu colleges” and thereby, the government can cancel the lecturer posts on the ground of reduced student strength in respective colleges.”
“This new government is communal and anti-minority. It is playing with the future and career of young candidates by interfering in the Commission’s procedure of announcement of result with the view of finally cancelling these posts on the basis of fewer students in the colleges,” he alleged.
Amin Patel, Congress MLA, too believes that there is communal agenda of BJP government in holding back results of minority aspirants. He said, “There is no reason of holding back results of aspiring Urdu lecturers. This government does not want minority community to develop and is even stalling the careers of educated youths. I shall raise this matter in the assembly.”