UPSC exam row: Government says it will not allow injustice to students

New Delhi: Government on Friday said it will not allow any injustice to students on the basis of language in UPSC examinations and has sought a report within a week from the three-member panel looking into the issue.

The assurance from Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh came in the Rajya Sabha after members expressed serious concern over the ongoing agitation of UPSC aspirants protesting the new Civil Services exam pattern and demanded cancellation of the exam scheduled on August 24.

Members, cutting across party lines, demanded a timeline for resolution of the issue and expressed dissatisfaction with the Minister's reply.

They said the Minister had in a statement sometime back assured that the problem will be resolved within a week, but appears helpless in doing so.

Singh said the issue of Admit Cards is not linked to the exam pattern and it will have no bearing on the government's decision, as it was being done as per the UPSC schedule.

"Government is not in favour of any injustice to students on the basis of language," Jitendra Singh told the House, adding he has asked the Committee to hand over the report within a week".

Allaying their apprehensions on the issue, the Minister said "The issue of Admit cards is not in any way going to influence the decision to be taken by the government. The cards have not been issued by us, but by the UPSC, which follows a calender. The issue of Admit Cards, I can assure you, is not going to influence the further course of action," Singh told members in the Upper House.

He said "I assure you that within one week we have sought the report of the Committee...Today I have again told the Committee to give the report within one week. As the report comes, further action will follow."

Singh also reminded the Opposition that the three-member Committee was formed on March 12, 2014 as per Court directive during UPA tenure and it was to submit its report within a month but it did not do so.

Earlier, the Opposition created a ruckus in both the Houses over the issue.

Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice during Question Hour following Opposition's demand for a clarification by no other than the Prime Minister or the Leader of the House on the issue.

The matter figured in Lok Sabha too though it did not lead to any adjournment.

"It should not sound that this is our creation," Jitendra Singh said, adding the matter had come to light after a PIL and the UPA government took cognisance of the issue only after directions from a High Court judge in 2011.

He, however, said there were no agitations and demonstrations then.

Singh said a three-member Committee was formed thereafter but it did not give its report and, meanwhile, there was a change of government and now there is an agitation.

The Minister said that when the government approached the Committee it sought an extension. "We said we are giving you a three-month extension. We wrote to them to send the report at the earliest," he said, adding "today also, we have again told the Committee to give its report within a week."

He said the government is aware of what is happening and is looking at the issue with all seriousness and sensitivity.

"We should appeal to children that they should not put themselves in any physical trouble. We are looking at their problem with all seriousness," he said.

Earlier members cutting across party lines, including some from the ruling BJP, raised concerns over falling success rate of language students in UPSC exams.

Seeking clarification from the Minister on his statement made in both Houses earlier this week, Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said discrimination is happening to language students in the UPSC exam and the number of those from Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and other languages successful in the exam was going down drastically while those with English have almost doubled.

He said no country can progress by the culture of translation and alleged a "bias" towards Indian languages to maintain the primacy of English in UPSC exams.

"Issuance of online admit cards should be immediately withdrawn. When will the Committee report come. The process of exams have already begun," he said.

The issue rocked both Houses of Parliament with opposition alleging that regional language aspirants have disadvantage in Civil Services examination conducted by the UPSC.

Soon after the Upper House assembled for the day, Congress, SP, DMK and others raised the issue, but Chairman Hamid Ansari asked them to maintain silence for making a reference to the tragic incident in Telengana yesterday in which 14 students were killed.

Ansari asked them not to come to the well and they abided by his advice, but vociferous protests went on. He first adjourned the House for 15 minutes and then till Zero Hour.

As the protests continued even after the House reassembled at 12, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaih Naidu said the government is ready to take up the clarifications first if members desire so.

In Lok Sabha, the alleged police action on UPSC aspirants was forcefully raised by members belonging to RJD, SP and JD-U.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, RJD members Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav and Rajesh Ranjan Yadav, SP's Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav, JD-U's Santosh Kumar and Kaushalendra Kumar came to the Well and demanded immediate discussion on the issue.

They shouted slogans against the government alleging it had failed to protect interests of students and women.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav asked Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to allow discussion on the issue.

The Speaker refused to suspend the Question Hour saying the issue had already been discussed in the House earlier and the concerned Minister had replied too.

But later, she relented and said she would allow discussion on the UPSC issue during Zero Hour, which was accepted by protesting members.

In the Rajya Sabha, former Union Minister M S Gill (Cong) said there are 22 recognised languages in the country with no language prevalent everywhere.

"The question is how do you run the work of the Government of India," he said wondering whether an exam can be conducted in 500 languages and people knowing 500 languages will sit in the interview board.

"I have sympathies with the minister...Do not make political points," Gill said drawing angry reactions from members of other parties especially Naresh Agrawal of Samajwadi Party who asked whether what Gill was saying was the stand of Congress.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, however, made it clear that when MPs speak in the House, they air their personal views and not that of the party.

Azad said the party's view on the issue has been given by Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Satyavrat Chaturvedi, who had earlier held that it was "unfortunate and shameful" that Indians rely so much on a foreign language like English.

Derek 'O' Brien (Trinamool Congress) said this was not an issue of English versus Hindi but concerns all regional languages.

S Muthukaruppan (AIADMK) said UPSC aspirants should be allowed to write their exam papers in all Indian languages.

Mukhatar Abbas Naqvi (BJP) said the demand of the agitating students is justified and so is their anger and regretted that the knowledge of people today is measured on the basis of whether he or she can speak English or not.

His colleague Vijay Goel said while most of the MPs win from their constituencies after delivering speeches in Hindi or other regional languages, they take to English when debating issues in Parliament.