Protest brews in Jammu and Kashmir after govt hires blacklisted firm

SRINAGAR:  The job aspirants in Jammu and Kashmir have taken to the streets in protest after the J&K government awarded the contract to conduct recruitment exams for government jobs in the union territory to a blacklisted company.

Political parties too have come out in support of the protest and demanded the scrapping of the contract awarded to Aptech Limited, the tainted company. Chanting slogans against Aptech, the protestors demanded fair exams and a transparent recruitment process. “The Aptech has been blacklisted in many states. Then why has the J&K government given the contract to a tainted company to conduct the recruitment process for government jobs,” they posed.

Aptech is blacklisted in several states, including UP, Rajasthan and Assam. The J&K Services Selection Board, which hired the blacklisted company, is already under the scanner after several recruitment exams it conducted last year were cancelled after irregularities were found in the selection process. The administration announced holding fresh exams, but the contract for conducting the selection process was awarded to Aptech.

In Jammu, where hundreds of job aspirants joined a massive protest on Wednesday, police used force to quell the protest. The cops detained many protestors who attempted to block the roads.The use of force on the protesting job aspirants was condemned widely. “I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the use of force & lathi-charge against students and JKSSRB aspirants.

These youngsters were exercising their democratic right to protest against the recent decision to engage a blacklisted firm Aptech by JKSSRB. This contract must be cancelled immediately,” tweeted Omar Abdullah, the former J&K chief minister and vice president of the J&K National Conference. Mehbooba Mufti, another former J&K CM, too aired similar concerns.