Karnataka - Hubli-Dharwad   

Railway recruitment: Mahishi to meet Prime Minister

Issue raised: Former Union Minister Sarojini Mahishi at the press conference in Hubli on Sunday.

HUBLI: Former Union Minister Sarojini Mahishi has taken exception to the manner in which the railway recruitment process for filling the D-Group posts was being held by the South Western Railway Zone, at various places in the State.

Addressing presspersons here on Sunday, Ms. Mahishi said in another week, she would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on the issue and urge them to safeguard the interests of the Kannadigas.

Ms. Mahishi said in several instances, respective railway zones had given priority to local candidates while filling up the posts of D-Group employees.

She charged the railway authorities of being partisan, especially with regard to appointing Kannadigas to the D-Group posts.

“In the wake of complaints about Bihari candidates being given priority and facilities being provided to them, I spoke to the General Manager of South Western Railway Praveen Kumar, and his reply was not positive,” she said.

Ms. Mahishi said that the general manager of a railway zone had the authority to make some changes in the recruitment process and the general manager could do so after convincing the Railway Recruitment Board in this regard, by apprising them about the local conditions.

“However, it seems as if no effort has been made even after protests by various organisations in this regard,” she said.

She said out of a total of 4,701 posts, 832 are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, 704 for ST, 748 for OBC and 939 for ex-servicemen. The remaining 1,478 posts should be given to Kannadigas, she said.

To a query, she said Members of Parliament from the State should take up the issue at the appropriate level as it was a matter concerning the interests of Kannadigas.

Dr. Mahishi said she did not want to draw inferences on the non-implementation of the committee’s final report that was submitted in 1986.

She said she had discharged her duties and it was for the Government to take action. The report could be implemented modifying it according to the present conditions, she said.

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