As protests erupt, Uddhav Thackeray says Maharashtra civil service exams in a week

Rattled as massive protests erupted across Maharashtra after the state civil service prelims were postponed for the 5th time in 12 months Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stated here on Thursday evening that the crucial exams will be held within a weekThe March 14 exams of Maharashtra Public Service Commission were postponed due to the Covid19 crisis Since there are lots of administrative issues involved in the current situation the exams shall not be held this Sunday However the Chief Secretary shall announce the new date on Friday Thackeray assured in an address to the stateEarlier thousands of youths took to the streets across the state protesting the government move postponing the March 14 MPSC preliminary examinations forcing police to resort to mild caning in some partsSome of the angry candidates threatened to commit suicide outside the exam centres while others warned that they would stage sitins till the government withdrew the notificationThackeray urged them to continue their studies and await the announcement of the fresh dates and also cautioned them against falling prey to vested political interests though sections of the candidates expressed displeasure at the postponementThe MPSC 2020 prelims scheduled on March 14 have been postponed for the 5th time in the past one year owing to the Covid19 crisis putting the future of many in jeopardy the candidates ruedPreviously the exams were scheduled on April 5 September 13 Sep 20 October 11 2020 and the latest on March 14 but were postponed owing to the pandemic and the lockdowns in force Punes Yuvak Kranti Dal Kamlakar Shete saidAn estimated 260000 plus candidates including several women in the 2130 age group who have travelled from remote parts of the state were hoping to appear for the prelims for two objectivetype papers at various centres in the state on SundayConducted annually by the statutory body the exams would open the doors for successful candidates in various government jobs across sectors based on merit and the applicable reservation criteriaTaken aback by the road blockades sitins sloganshouting and other forms of agitation that erupted in Nagpur Pune Aurangabad Amravati Solapur Nanded Kolhapur Jalgaon and other places the local police and district administrations rushed to the spots to control the tempers and the situationAt some places the agitating students squatted or lay on the roads vowing that they would not move from there till the exams were conducted as scheduled on March 14As police took to mild caning of protesting candidates in Amravati and some other places Thackeray spoke with the DirectorGeneral of Police Hemant Nagrale and other officials instructing them to show restraint visavis the protestersRuling ally and State Congress President Nana Patole Minister Vijay Wadettiwar and others called up Thackeray and urged him to work out a solution to the sudden crisis on priority given that emotions were running highBharatiya Janata Partys Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for the move and demanded that Thursdays notification be cancelled and the exams conducted immediatelySuch repeated postponements of the MPSC exams result in huge financial losses and mental torture to the students who prepare for it for years The notification must be withdrawn immediately Fadnavis tweetedMVA constituent Nationalist Congress Party legislator Rohit Pawar urged the government to resolve the issue at the earliest and said he was personally in favour of conducting the exams but after taking all Covid19 precautions at all venuesThe repeated putting off has immensely traumatized the candidates The economically weaker students make huge efforts to pay for their travel expenses to the exam centres repeated preparations for the exams all this goes waste with each cancellation Shete saidMoreover some senior candidates who are in the borderline age groups are worried that such cancellations would make them agebarred and deprive them of government employmentSeveral other political leaders across parties have appealed to the state government and the MPSC to consider the plight of the candidates and make arrangements to hold the exams as per the scheduleThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever