Thiruvananthapuram: A protest march taken out by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in support of Public Service Commission rank holders turned tense outside the Kerala Secretariat here on Thursday after police used water cannons to disperse the demonstrators.
The BJYM, the youth wing of the BJP, organised the march expressing solidarity with a group of PSC rank holders, who have been staging a hunger strike in front of the Secretariat, demanding immediate appointments and alleging irregularities in recruitment to various government posts.
Police resorted to water cannons after the protesters attempted to breach the barricades erected near the administrative headquarters.
Similar protests were also organised by the Morcha in Thrissur and Kollam in support of the agitating PSC rank holders.
Addressing the protesters here, senior BJP leader S Suresh alleged that the job aspirants had been protesting in front of the Secretariat for the past 30 days, but the government had failed to initiate even talks with them.
The health condition of many of the protesters has deteriorated, he alleged.
"Yet the government is not even ready to hold discussions with them. There is no difference between the present V D Satheesan government and the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government in their attitude towards PSC job aspirants," he alleged.
The PSC rank holders have been on an indefinite hunger strike seeking immediate appointments and raising concerns over delays and alleged irregularities in the recruitment process.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.