Job aspirants in Dharwad protest demanding recruitment drive to fill vacant govt posts
Dharwad (PTI): Several job aspirants on Monday staged a protest here demanding that the Karnataka government launch a recruitment drive to fill vacancies across various departments.
Police said 35 people, including women, were detained.
The demonstration was organised by Janasamanyara Vedike and Udyogakankshigala Horata Samiti.
Aspirants had planned to march from Srinagar Circle to the District Commissioner’s office, but police intervened and detained many of the participants.
Students from different parts of the city assembled in the Srinagar area and raised anti-government slogans.
They urged the government to announce a clear policy during the upcoming winter session of the state legislature to fill all vacant posts and introduce more student-friendly measures.
Police had earlier denied permission for the protest, citing traffic congestion and potential law-and-order issues. Despite this, the organisers went ahead with the demonstration.
Speaking to reporters later, Dharwad Police Commissioner N Shashikumar said the job aspirants had sought permission, but it was withheld due to security concerns.
"They claimed around 30,000 students would join the protest. Some PG and library science students had spoken about holding an indefinite dharna and blocking junctions. We asked for clarification on who would lead the protest and how many would actually participate," he said.
He noted that around 80,000 students live in the area and that it is surrounded by schools, colleges and hospitals.
"If miscreants misuse such a situation in a student-populated area, law and order could easily deteriorate. For these reasons, permission was not granted," he said.
According to the commissioner, the organisers failed to provide complete information to the authorities. On Monday morning, nearly 200 local students and aspirants gathered to demonstrate.
"I told the organisers that the protest was unlawful. Even one wrong act could have led to serious problems. We explained that the government had already taken certain steps, but they insisted on marching to the DC office," he said.
He added that the route passes several coaching centres and that police detained the protesters as a precaution. "We have detained 35 people, including women," he said.
Shashikumar recalled that during an earlier protest by the same group, some individuals had shouted "inappropriate" slogans and blocked Jubilee Circle, inconveniencing the public.
"There is no question of suppressing protests. Everyone has the right to protest, but it must be done as per the rules," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
