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 urges US allies to send warships to Strait of ?Hormuz as Iran vows to retaliate
Cairo (AP): US President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the vital Strait of ?Hormuz while Iran urged people to evacuate three ports in the United Arab Emirates as its war with the United States and Israel showed no signs of ending.
Iran's call to evacuate the Middle East's busiest port and two other UAE ports marked the first time it had openly threatened a neighboring country's non-U.S. assets.
Tehran said the U.S. had used “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran's oil exports, without providing evidence. It urged people to leave areas where it said U.S. forces were sheltering.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's humanitarian crisis deepened, with over 800 people killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Iran says the US attacked from close to Dubai
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Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the US attacked Kharg Island and Abu Musa Island from two locations in the UAE, Ras Al-Khaimah and a place “very close to Dubai,” calling that dangerous and saying Iran “will try to be careful not to attack any populated area” there.
US Central Command said it had no response to Iran's claim. A diplomatic adviser to the UAE's president, Anwar Gargash, said on social media the country has the right to defend itself but “still prioritises reason and logic, and continues exercising restraint.”
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbours during the war, but it has said it was targeting US assets, even as hits or attempts were reported on civilian ones such as airports and oil fields.
Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was closed only to “those who are attacking us and their allies.”
Trump urges allies to send warships to Strait of Hormuz
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As global anxiety soars over oil prices and supplies, Trump said Saturday that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and others send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe.” Britain in response said it was discussing with allies a “range of options” to secure shipping.
Araghchi, in a social media post, urged neighbours to “expel foreign aggressors” and described Trump's call as “begging.”
On Saturday, Iran's joint military command reiterated its threat to attack U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” in the region if the Islamic Republic's oil infrastructure is hit.
Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency said the Kharg Island strikes caused no damage to oil infrastructure. It said they targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower and an offshore oil company's helicopter hangar.
US identifies 6 killed in military aircraft crash
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The US Department of Defense on Saturday identified six service members who died when the military refueling aircraft they were aboard crashed Thursday while supporting operations against Iran.
The service members were Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, according to U.S. officials.
The crash in western Iraq followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” according to U.S. Central Command. The other plane landed safety.
