No need for interview for Group D, C, B posts in government from January: PM

New Delhi: From January 1 next year, there will be no requirement of interview for Group D, C and B non-gazetted posts in central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced today as part of efforts to put an end to the menace of corruption in jobs.

In his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', he recalled that he had suggested in his Independence Day address that the practice of holding interviews for recruitment at lower levels in governments could be done away with.

"The government has completed the entire process to do away with interviews for lower rank jobs. There will be no requirement of interview for Group D, C and B non-gazetted posts in central government. It will come into effect from January 1, 2016," Modi said.

He said the practice was being abolished since it bred corruption and the poor people were being looted by 'dalals'.

"People were getting robbed for getting employment and even when they could not get a job. It often crossed my mind as to why there was the need for an interview for small jobs. I have never heard of a physcologist who can evaluate a person during an interview of one to two minutes," Modi said.

He said abolition of the practice will particularly help the poor who would have to resort to "recommendations" or fall prey to brokers who made way with their money.

In his Independence Day speech, Modi had said he had seen youth often looking for 'sifarish' (recommendation) after getting an interview call. "Even poor widows are compelled to look for recommendations for interview of their children," he had said then.

Recently, Minister for Personnel Jitendra Singh had written a letter to all Chief Ministers asking them to identify such posts which could be exempted from interviews.

"The governments view is that the interviews should be discontinued for recruitment to junior level posts where personality or skill assessment is not absolutely required.

"The objective behind abolition of interviews for such posts is that it will curb corruption, ensure more objective selection in a transparent manner and substantially ease the problems of the poor and resourceless aspirants," he had said in his communication to the CMs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a scathing attack on RJD chief Lalu Prasad on his home turf, calling him a "tantrik" (occultist) and his party "Rashtriya Jadu Tona Party" as he reached out to the youth and weaker sections, promising a six-point programme for the state's development.

Amid indications that the caste and reservation debate dominating the polls scenario here could be detrimental to NDA's prospects, the Prime Minister raised the development pitch promising "bijli-paani-sadak" (electricity, road and water) and "kamai, padhai, and dawai" (earning, education and medicines) for each family in the state.

Blaming "Bade bhaai (Lalu) and Chhote Bhaai (Nitish Kumar) for problems plaguing the state, Modi insisted that the only plank NDA has is of "development".

Hitting back at the grand alliance's "Bihari versus Bahari (Bihari versus outsider)" barb to attack BJP, which is fighting the polls under the leadership of Modi and Amit Shah, the Prime Minister took up the issues of migration and unemployment among youths.

In remarks laced with sarcasm, he said that he wants to ask from the "very respectable democrat (param adarniya loktantrik) Nitish ji and the "biggest occult practitioner (tantrik) Lalu ji that who made the Bihar youths outsiders by forcing them out of the state in search of livelihood.

"People of Bihar want to know who made the youths of Bihar outsiders (Bahari). Who pushed my youths of Bihar outside. They destroyed two generations of youths in Bihar in last 25 years," Modi said amid renewed attempts by the BJP to consolidate youth voters in Bihar, which it expects will vote beyond the caste and community lines.

Ridiculing Lalu's election meeting barbs at him, Modi said, "Laluji you are free to sacrifice black or white pigeon or blow smoke or soil. If you have to do this rename your party Rashtriya Janta Dal as Rashtriya Jadu Tona Party (party of occult practices) and being the head of the party, you will be the biggest 'tantrik' in the world."