Pro-reservation stir begins in Lucknow
After the cancellation of the three-tiered reservation policy by the UP Public Service Commission (UPPSC), pro-reservation stir began here on Tuesday with hundreds of reservation supporters marching to gherao the Samajwadi party office.
The police stalled their march and six protesters were reportedly injured in the scuffle with the police near Raj Bhawan.
Later, thousands of protesters sat on a dharna in front of the Vidhan Sabha blocking the entire road for several hours.
Security at the chief minister’s residence was immediately beefed up and RAF was deployed at the secretariat annex too which houses the CM’s office.
The pro reservation protesters told reporters that they demanded a magisterial inquiry into the lathi-charge on them and said that the action would prove to be the proverbial ‘last nail in the Samajwadi party’s coffin’.
The pro reservation protesters are demanding that the Akhilesh Yadav government restore the 3-tier reservation which had been abruptly withdrawn by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on July 26.
The Akhilesh Yadav government has virtually been caught in the cross fire of anti and pro reservation protesters after the controversial decision of the UPPSC, which had amended rules for reservation for OBC by applying quota at three stages—preliminary examinations, main exam and interviews. This decision was taken in May 2013.
Prior to this amendment in rules, the reservation quota was fixed at the final stage of recruitment or after the completion of the interviews.
After a month of dharna at the UPPSC office in Allahabad, the anti-reservation protesters took to the streets on July 15 and vandalised and set ablaze dozens of shops, government buses and even a mall in the posh Civil Line area.
SUVs bearing the Samajwadi party flags were specially targeted.
Responding to their petition the Allahabad high court on July 22 had stayed the interviews for the Combined State Upper Sub ordinate Service for 10 days.
The Akhilesh Yadav government succumbed to pressure and decided to withdraw the newly- amended rules on July 26, paving the way for a pro- reservation stir.
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