Hundreds of aspirants for state government jobs staged a major demonstration outside the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) headquarters in Prayagraj's Civil Lines area on Monday. The protest was triggered by the commission's alleged failure to disclose crucial examination details, including revised answer keys and category-wise cut-off marks for recent competitive tests.
Core Demands for Transparency
The protesting students, who had appeared for examinations like the PCS-2024 preliminary and the RO & ARO-2023 preliminary, raised several key demands. They called for immediate transparency in the selection process. Their primary grievances centered on the non-disclosure of the revised final answer key even after the declaration of final results. Furthermore, they alleged that the commission had not made public the cut-off marks for all categories or the individual marks obtained by candidates.
The students asserted that the lack of these disclosures raises serious doubts about the fairness of the entire process. A student leader named Ashutosh highlighted that questions about transparency in UPPSC examinations have persisted for years without any permanent resolution from the authorities.
Chaos and Major Police Response
The sit-in protest caused significant disruption at the UPPSC crossing and surrounding areas. Anticipating trouble, the police administration deployed a substantial force. Personnel from more than ten police stations were present, supported by paramilitary units like the Rapid Action Force (RAF).
In a notable move, the police used drones to maintain surveillance over the large gathering of protesters. The situation escalated briefly near the UPPSC gate, leading to heated arguments. Two protesters were subsequently removed from the site by the police. Despite the tensions, Station House Officer (Civil Lines) Ramashraya Yadav stated that the situation remained peaceful and was under strict watch.
Detailed List of Protesters' Demands
The candidates presented a clear set of demands to the UPPSC authorities. They insisted on the immediate release of the revised final answer key for the concerned examinations. Another critical demand was the publication of category-wise cut-off marks. They also pushed for the public release of the marks list of all candidates who appeared.
Additionally, the protesters demanded that carbon copies of the OMR sheets be made available on the commission's official website for greater accountability. There was also a strong demand to adhere to the migration rule, which suggests that up to 15 times the number of vacancies should be declared successful in the preliminary examination stage for different recruitment drives.
The protest underscores the growing frustration among aspirants regarding procedural opacity in major state recruitment examinations. The students have vowed to continue their agitation until their demands for a transparent and fair evaluation process are met by the UPPSC.
