The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Recruitment upsets Kannada activists

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Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Recruitment upsets Kannada activists

Staff Reporter

“South Western Railway has given preference to non-Karnataka candidates”

Protesters allege arrangements made for travel of Bihar candidates
Recruitment for Group ‘D’ posts should not be made on all-India basis

BANGALORE: Services of several trains were affected in Karnataka on Tuesday as pro-Kannada activists continued their protest for the fifth consecutive day throughout the State against “injustice” being meted out to Kannadigas in the ongoing recruitment process for filling 4,701 Group ‘D’ vacancies in the South Western Railway.

Activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, who stormed the Yeshwanthpur Railway Station, were caned by the police. In the melee, Yeshwanthpur – Nizamuddin Sampark Kranthi Express scheduled to leave Yeshwanthpur at 1.40 p.m. was held up for an hour. Activists staged protest at Bidadi, where they detained Mysore-Bangalore Passenger for over 20 minutes and Bangalore-Mysore Passenger for another 20 minutes. Members of the vedike detained Yeshwanthpur-Dadar Chalukya Express at Dharwad Railway Station for about 20 minutes urging the Railway authorities to stop the recruitment process immediately.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists attempted to barge into the Yeshwanthpur Railway Grounds in Bangalore on Tuesday morning where the physical fitness test was under way. However, the police prevented them from entering the grounds.

Pro-Kannada activists mobbed Union Minister of State for Labour Oscar Fernandes in Bangalore on the same issue.

When Mr. Fernandes was coming out after attending a function at the Town Hall, activists surrounded him and raised slogans against the Centre, the Railways and the “inaction” by MPs from State on the issue. Activists of various Kannada organisations are up in arms against the Railways, alleging “preferential” treatment was being given to candidates from outside Karnataka, particularly those from Bihar, the home State of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad. They alleged that the Railways had arranged special coaches to ferry candidates from Bihar and had even arranged for their boarding and lodging in Bangalore, Mysore and Hubli.

Several organisations, including the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike and the Bharatiya Janata Party staged dharna in Hubli and Dharwad.

The BJP leaders and activists staged a dharna in front of the office of the General Manager of the South Western Railway in Hubli.

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