Job aspirants from NE for Railways C & D category posts are being discrimited against, allege local students unions
BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Aug 29: The All Kamrup District Students Union (AKDSU) on Monday laid siege to the Northeastern Frontier Railway (NFR) headquarters at Maligaon to protest the ‘bias’ in recruitment policy against job aspirants from Northeastern states.
Several hundred student activists belonging to AKDSU, All Guwahati Subdivision Students Union and All Rangia Subdivision Students Union gathered in front of the NFR headquarters to protest against the NFR’s recruitment policy for selection of candidates meant for C and D categories, thereby leading to deprivation of candidates from the region.
The protesters shouted slogans against Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu and the Central government during the demonstration, which continued for over an hour.
AKDSU president Dhiraj Rajbongshi said that the NFR had deprived the local youths for decades in recruitment for railway jobs. “The NFR, in spite of its headquarters being located here, keeps recruiting youths from other states, particularly Bihar, thus depriving the local youths. We won’t tolerate the step-motherly attitude of NFR towards the youths of this region, and Assam in particular. If they (NFR) do not change their recruitment policy, the students’ union will be compelled to step up its agitation,” Rajbongshi fumed.
Secretary of AKDSU Nirod Kumar Das also vented anger on the same lines. “It had been observed in the past that youths from the NE region hardly get a chance to appear at the selection process of NFR. Youths from Bihar, UP and other states get to sit at the written exams while our candidates are not even selected. There is no dearth of talent in our youths. It is only because of lapses in the NFR’s selection process that our youths are deprived. We demand immediate change in its recruitment policy so that more able candidates from the region get category C and D jobs in the Railways,” Das remarked.
The demonstration was attended by the publicity secretary and office secretary of All Assam Students Union (AASU) Prakash Chandra Das and Dharmeswar Das. Student activists belonging to various colleges also took part in the agitation.