Panchkula, February 17: Police on Tuesday used water cannon to disperse Youth Congress workers who attempted to breach barricades and march towards the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) office in Panchkula.
The protest, organised by the Youth Congress with support from senior Congress leaders, was aimed at “gheraoing” the HPSC office over alleged irregularities in recruitment and the failure to fill advertised vacancies.
Police had heavily barricaded the commission’s premises in anticipation of the demonstration. As protesters tried to push past the barricades, police responded with water cannon to prevent them from advancing.
Among those who participated in the protest were Congress MP from Rohtak Deepender Singh Hooda, Congress MP from Ambala Varun Chaudhary, Indian Youth Congress president Udai Bhanu Chib, and Haryana Youth Congress president Nishit Kataria. All were briefly detained during the protest.
Addressing the gathering, Hooda alleged that a large number of government posts in Haryana remain vacant, while some filled positions are allegedly going to candidates from outside the state. “We are here to protect the interests of Haryana youth,” he said.
Chaudhary criticised the commission, describing it as a “rejection commission for Haryana youth,” and accused the BJP-led state government of failing to safeguard employment opportunities for local aspirants.
Recruitment Controversies Spark Agitation
The protest comes amid mounting discontent over recent HPSC recruitment outcomes.
In one instance, out of nearly 5,100 candidates who appeared for the Post Graduate Teacher (Computer Science) examination, only 39 cleared the written test, leaving 1,672 of the 1,711 advertised posts unfilled.
The immediate trigger for the latest unrest was the Assistant Professor (English) recruitment process, in which only 151 candidates qualified against 613 vacancies. According to the recruitment notification, candidates were to be shortlisted in a 2:1 ratio, implying that 1,226 candidates should have progressed to the next stage. However, the number of shortlisted candidates was significantly lower, prompting allegations of discrepancies in the evaluation process.
More than 2,400 candidates had appeared for the descriptive Stage-2 examination. Several aspirants claimed that despite submitting academically rigorous responses, only a small fraction secured the minimum qualifying score of 35 per cent.
The category-wise selection figures further intensified concerns among candidates:
- General: 136 selected for 312 posts
- Deprived SC: 1 selected for 60 posts
- Other SC: 2 selected for 60 posts
- BC-B: 3 selected for 36 posts
- BC-A: 3 selected for 85 posts
- EWS: 6 selected for 60 posts
Many of the rejected candidates are reportedly NET-qualified, hold PhDs, or possess strong academic records. Some aspirants have argued that the stringent written-exam cut-offs undermine principles of fairness in public employment.
For the past 50 days, aggrieved candidates have been staging a dharna in Panchkula, demanding that the commission re-verify its evaluation methodology, recheck tabulation of marks, and ensure adherence to notified shortlisting criteria.
On Wednesday, dozens of aspirants held a peaceful demonstration outside the HPSC office, lying on the ground with folded hands in a symbolic appeal for transparency and fairness.
