APPSC ignores protests, goes ahead with recruitment exam

Updated on: Monday, September 06, 2010

Amid protests by Telangana protagonists, including ruling Congress MPs, the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) today conducted the preliminary examination for recruitment of Group-I service officers across the state.

Tension prevailed in the Osmania University here, the hotbed of the separate Telangana agitation, when a group of pro-Telangana activists hurled stones at the policemen.

Protesting the APPSC's move to go ahead with the exam despite demands for its postponement until the share of Telangana is decided in jobs, the students and Telangana supporters held a protest inside the university campus.

Pro-Telangana activists, defying the prohibitory orders imposed at the exam centres, broke the barricades put at the OU campus and scaled the compound wall of the B Ed college centre in the university -- one of the exam centres.

Shouting 'Jai Telangana', the activists barged into the exam centre and allegedly snatched answer-sheets and question papers from candidates and burnt them even as police intervened and took them into preventive custody.

Some students, who appeared for the exam too came out and tore apart the question papers.

Angered over the arrests, the protesters hurled stones at the policemen who lobbed tear gas shells to control the violent mob.

The protesters threw stones at a Big Bazaar shopping mall at Tarnaka near Osmania University and some buses were also damaged near the university campus, police said.

Some BJP workers, including party's MLA Laxminarayana, were taken into preventive custody when they visited the University campus.

Alleging that gross injustice is done to Telangana in the recruitment of employees through competitive examinations conducted by the APPSC, the Telangana supporters have demanded 42 per cent reservation for the region in jobs on the basis of
population.

Later, about 60 protesters were taken into preventive custody, East Zone DCP Mahesh Chandra Laddha told reporters, adding that three policemen suffered minor injuries in the stone-pelting.

The protesters were joined by Congress MPs -- Madhu Yashki Goud, K Rajagopal Reddy, G Sukhender Reddy and M. Jagannath -- and TRS MLA E Rajender.

The MPs and the MLA were taken into preventive custody and later released on bail.

Congress MPs Ponnam Prabhakar and S Rajaiah held protests at the exam centres in their Lok Sabha constituencies of Karimnagar and Warangal respectively and they were also taken into preventive custody.

Alleging that the attendance of examinees was thin in Telangana, Prabhakar, Convener of the Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh, demanded that the exam be cancelled and conducted again.

The Convener of JAC that comprises TRS and various people's organisations, M Kodandaram, also demanded that the exam be cancelled as the attendance of examinees was minimal and that the question paper was "leaked".

"Even those who appeared for the examination could not write peacefully in view of the tense atmosphere. Hence, we urge the government to cancel the exam," he told PTI.

State Higher Education Minister D Sridhar Babu, who belongs to Telangana and sought postponement of the examination yesterday, said the decision to go ahead with the test was taken by APPSC.

"APPSC is an independent institution. It was their decision to conduct the examination," he said.

Meanwhile, the examination was held in non-Telangana regions peacefully.

The examination was conducted at 445 centres across the state under tight security arrangements, official sources said.

The percentage of attendance of examinees in some districts is: Hyderabad 45 per cent, Nellore 48, Krishna 40, West Godavari 50, Adilabad 42, Karimnagar 36, Mahabubnagar 44, Visakhapatnam 68, Chittoor 41, Kurnool 52, Khammam 42, Guntur 52, Warangal 50, Anantapur 53.5, Prakasam 46, Kadapa 45, Vizianagaram 55 and Medak 43.

Except allegations of leakage of question paper at Osmania University B.Ed college, the examination passed off peacefully across the state.

APPSC ignores protests, goes ahead with recruitment exam

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