Another ‘satyagraha’ to be launched in Dharwad over recruitment

Dharwad, which was in the news for the mega students’ protest over the delayed recruitment process in various departments — and now over the demand for a separate municipal corporation — is likely to witness another “satyagraha” if the government fails to initiate the recruitment process.

Addressing a press conference in Dharwad on Monday (June 1), B.D. Hiremath, activist and president of the High Court Bar Association of Dharwad, has said that if the government failed to fix a time for discussions regarding the commencement of the recruitment process as demanded by job aspirants, they would be forced to launch a “satyagraha for truth and justice” from June 9.

Mr. Hiremath said that the Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad and Police Commissioner should shoulder the responsibility of scheduling the meeting with the government and said that they would wait until June 8, after which the “satyagraha” would be launched irrespective of whether the police permitted it or not.

He said that while the State government has decided to undertake recruitment, the process had not yet begun as the final notification had not been issued yet. Consequently, unemployed youths were getting agitated. Uttara Karnataka Vikas Vedike, in association with AKSA (Akhila Karnataka Students’ Association) would jointly organised the protest, he said.

Mr. Hiremath said that the protest was initially planned for Wednesday (June 3), but was called off because the police denied permission. He said that while the police claim that they were hurt by the conduct of the protesting students, the youths were also hurt because of the inordinate delay in recruitment.

As the new Chief Minister is set to take oath on Wednesday (June 3), the administration should arrange a meeting with the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister over the issue, he said, adding that “the onus of facilitating the dialogue lies with the Deputy Commissioner and Police Commissioner”.

Mr. Hiremath also clairified that leaders from all the 31 districts should be involved in the discussion on the issue.

The police denied permission to AKSA for holding the agitation on Wednesday (June 3), citing violation of rules and conditions laid down during earlier protests and law and order concerns.

Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar told presspersons that they had already informed Mr. Hiremath about the relevant details. He said that the public should not be misled by contradictory statements and hoped that AKSA would cooperate with them on the issue.