Government job aspirants in Bengaluru staged a protest today, Thursday, February 8, at Freedom Park in support of Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) Secretary Latha Kumari.
To recall, KPSC released a notice on Tuesday, February 6, notifying that KPSC Secretary Latha Kumari has been granted paid leave from February 7 to February 17, 2024. In the meantime, Dr Rakesh Kumar, Commissioner, Social Welfare Department, Bengaluru, has been given the concurrent charge of the post of Secretary KPSC.
In response to this new development, the Karnataka State Competitive Examination Aspirants Association (KSCEAA) staged a protest on February 8, demanding the state government to revoke the recent order and reinstate the present secretary with immediate effect.
In addition to this, the aspirants have also urged the state government to remove the KPSC Chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar and a few other members of the commission on the grounds of misconduct against KPSC employees and dereliction of their constitutional duties.
This has come in the midst of infighting among the chairman, members, and the secretary of the commission. On Tuesday, February 6, Chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar, along with five members of the commission, boycotted its weekly meetings.
However, the remaining members of the commission went ahead with the meeting and cleared notification of the gazetted probationers examination and other proposals received from the government to fill Group A, B, and C posts in various departments.
The aspirants, who have been voicing for regular and timely release of job notifications and results for a long time, say that the current secretary has made several ‘pro-aspirant’ decisions during her tenure of five months and thus, should be reinstated immediately.
On Thursday, the protestors also demanded the release of all pending notifications before the commission.
