Despite protests at Secretariat, meeting with ministers, aspirants in Kerala PSC rank list in dire straits

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Job aspirants -- figuring in the Public Service Commission rank list for last-grade posts in various departments -- who had led the protest in front of the Secretariat for 45 days during the fag end of the previous LDF government are now in dire straits.

With the rank list set to expire on August 3, they had met almost all LDF ministers in person several times but to no avail. Now their demand before the new Pinarayi government is that the rank list should be extended.

Over the past one-and-a-half months, the aspirants had visited the state capital more than 10 times.

With precious time trickling by, those who had staged protests are apprehensive about the future as they are representing several thousand people included in the rank list.

It was released on June 30, 2018, with 46,000 job aspirants included. 

Laya Rajesh, the leading face of the protest, who belongs to Thrissur, told TNIE that only 6,613 people from the list have been appointed in various departments.

“We have met almost all new ministers, and LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan and former law minister A K Balan who had held talks with us and assured of timely assistance. They have all promised us that the issue will be brought to the notice of the chief minister. Time is running out as a majority of persons in the last-grade rank list don’t have another chance to qualify in PSC tests,” said Laya.

The aspirants fear the government will not extend the rank list against the interests of the DYFI.

They had held talks with DYFI state secretary A A Rahim who too has promised to take up their grievance with the CM. 

Balan had promised the protestors of expediting promotions to those caught in seniority-related disputes and other procedural issues. 

With ministers, bureaucrats and other officials seemingly washing their hands off the issue, the aspirants are a confused lot wondering whether the restraint shown will boomerang. 

For they had called off their high-profile agitation trusting the previous LDF government.