Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Wednesday stated that the exams to be conducted by Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) were deferred for the time being and would be conducted after its (Board’s) satisfaction about the fool-proof process.
He reiterated that transparency and merit were the only areas of concern for the government for conducting recruitment.
After inaugurating the Chancellor’s Trophy at the Jammu University, LG Sinha was responding to media query pertaining to deferment of the Computer Based exams (of Account Assistants and Junior Engineers) to be conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) from March 16 till April 5, 2023.
LG Sinha also stuck to his guns vis-à-vis his earlier statement that the opposition leaders “gave jobs to terrorists and their families” during their tenure.
With regard to the J&K budget for 2023-24, he hailed it by describing it as an all inclusive budget “aimed at consolidating and taking tangible vision of new J&K to greater heights” with a balanced focus on agriculture, security, youth, empowerment, education and industrial investment.
Amid protests by JKSSB job aspirants seeking ban on Aptech for conducting exams besides highlighting related issues, the Board late Tuesday evening had announced to defer the exams “till further intimation.”
“The exam has been deferred for the time being. I feel that after the JKSSB gets fully satisfied, the exams will be conducted very soon,” LG Sinha said, when asked to comment on the “suspension” of the exam process.
With regard to a query if the government, after the deferment of exams, would ensure probe into all allegations pertaining to agencies (Aptech) which were assigned the task to conduct Computer Based Tests (CBTs), the Lieutenant Governor remarked, “I have told you even earlier also that if there is an iota of doubt about anything (aspect) related to it (exam process), transparency is the top priority for us. All recruitments are based on merit only – this is being given precedence. Transparency and merit only are our major concerns and criteria for the recruitment. On that account, we can make no compromise.”
While responding to media queries, LG Sinha refused to directly engage himself in a verbal duel with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on her comment vis-à-vis his recent statement where in an oblique dig at the opposition parties, he had charged them (opposition) with “giving jobs to terrorists and their families.” Yet he stuck to his statement made earlier.
“I will not comment or reply to anyone’s allegation. However, this is the truth and the fact remains that 47 people have already been dismissed from service following charges of their involvement in the anti-national activities. I don’t think that I need to reply or comment on this account. This fact is in the public domain and all of you know about it. When they (dismissed employees) were appointed, this fact would also figure in public domain and you would come to know about it (in whose tenure, they were appointed). This will not be proper if I say something else on this account. But what I had stated (opposition leaders gave jobs to terrorists) was based on facts,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
Mehbooba, while interacting with media, had denied it (charge) alleging that the Lieutenant Governor would “probably be narrating his experience in Uttar Pradesh as this was not a practice in J&K.”
Lieutenant Governor, while responding to a question about major focus on “enhanced allocation (Rs 1200 crore) for strengthening security grid” in J&K budget 2023-24, said, “I feel that the budget should be viewed and analysed in totality. Broadly speaking, our (J&K’s) 70 percent population is dependent on agriculture and the allied sectors. The budget has a great focus on the plan we have formulated for holistic development (of agriculture and allied sectors). For the next five years, we will infuse additional allocation of Rs 5013 crore to strengthen this sector.”
“Security, naturally, has been a priority for J&K so for obvious reasons, it has also been given due consideration in the budget. Besides, tourism, youth empowerment and education sectors too have been the focussed areas in the budget. A new beginning is being made in case of industrial investment. So in totality, the Union Finance Minister has presented a very praiseworthy budget which will further strengthen the tangible vision of new J&K, the foundations of which has already been laid, and take it to greater heights of development,” he said.