CM Adityanath tells recruitment boards to avoid making undignified remarks on any community
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday issued directives to all recruitment boards, asking them to refrain from making undignified remarks regarding the dignity or religious sentiments of any individual, caste, creed, or community, the state government said in a statement.
"The chief minister issued directives to the chairpersons of all recruitment boards: Refrain from making undignified remarks regarding the dignity or religious sentiments of any individual, caste, creed, or community. Taking cognisance of this, similar instructions must be issued to all paper setters as well," it said.
Adityanath directed that the habitual offenders must be immediately blacklisted.
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This matter should also be made a part of the memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with paper setters, Adityanath directed, the statement said.
The directives issued by Adityanath assume importance as they came a day after a question -- "Who changes according to the opportunity?" -- asked in an Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment examination triggered a controversy, as one of the options listed in the written paper was "pandit", prompting objections from leaders within the ruling BJP.
The question, which appeared in the Hindi section of the written examination conducted on March 14 for the recruitment of sub-inspectors, asked candidates to choose a one-word answer for a person who changes according to opportunity.
The issue triggered a political row after Uttar Pradesh BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra wrote to Chief Minister Adityanath, seeking action against those responsible for framing the question, saying the inclusion of "pandit" among the options hurt the sentiments of the Brahmin community.
"The correct meaning of a person who changes according to the opportunity is 'opportunist', but including 'pandit' among the options hurts the sentiments of a particular community," Mishra said, adding the term "pandit" is associated with knowledge and religious respect.
The controversy comes days after opposition parties accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of being "anti-Brahmin" following the alleged mistreatment of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati during the Magh Mela in Prayagraj.
Against this backdrop, the latest row over the examination question has the potential to escalate into a larger political controversy, particularly since the objection has come from leaders within the ruling party itself.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB) has ordered an inquiry into it.
In a post late on Saturday night, the UPPRPB said it has ordered an inquiry into the specific question that was circulated on social media.
The board said the question was from the first shift of the written examination conducted on March 14 for recruitment to the posts of sub-inspector (civil police) and equivalent positions.
The board said it follows a stringent protocol to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of question papers before the examination.
"The board has established a highly rigorous protocol to ensure that the integrity of the question papers remains completely intact prior to the examinations. To uphold this security protocol, no officer or employee at the board level is granted access to the question paper material," it said.
According to the board, sealed packets containing the question papers are opened for the first time inside examination halls in the presence of two invigilators before distribution to candidates.
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Trump rushed out of dinner event after shots fired; one arrested
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
