As civil service aspirants scaled up their protests, the Government on Friday said it will not allow any injustice to students on the basis of language in UPSC exams. The issue also rocked Parliament where the Opposition demanded a solution within a clear timeframe.
The Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh sought to calm frayed tempers in Parliament, saying the Government is looking at the issue with “all seriousness” and sensitivity and that a three-member panel set up in this regard was again asked on Friday to submit its report within a week.
“The Government is not in favour of any injustice to students on the basis of language,” Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned twice during Question Hour following the Opposition’s demand for a clarification by either the Prime Minister or the Leader of the House on the issue.
Singh, while speaking to reporters, appealed to the aspirants to be “patient”, saying that the Government and the Prime Minister are more concerned than the agitating students are and are trying to find a “satisfactory solution.”
The aspirants are protesting against the pattern of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in the UPSC exams that they believe gives an unfair advantage to English-speaking students while leaving Hindi and regional language aspirants at a disadvantage.
They want the CSAT to be scrapped.