1.3 lakh job-seekers’ future at stake? Many take to social media route to express anger against SSC chairman, officials

ON FRIDAY, social media platforms saw an unusual hashtag, #saveSSCcgle2013. It’s about CGLE 2013 examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and meant for graduates aspiring to be Central secretariat assistants, income-tax inspectors, excise inspectors etc. Many of 1.3 lakh applicants who crossed the tier-I of the written examination have now aired their anger against SCC officials including its chairman and IAS officer…
Amitava Bhattacharya for their inept handling of a year-long examination that is on the verge of getting scrapped after it got embroiled in cheating, investigations, legal battles etc. Some of them are now planning to stage a protest in Delhi on January 28, 2014 after SCC reportedly told the court on Wednesday that it favours restructuring the examination which effectively means the scrapping of the ongoing Common Graduate Level Examination (CGLE 2013) that began early last year.
“AB was appointed by PM and AB is hailing from Gujarat. Both @pmoindia and @narendramodi have to take the responsibility” one applicant tweeted referring to Amitava Bhattacharya, a Gujarat cadre IAS who had earlier worked as secretary to UPSC. Others are more direct against Bhattacharya. BoI could not independently verify the authenticity of some of those allegations and decides not to reproduce those comments.
But a few months ahead of the general elections, this social media protest, if not handled well, could potentially snowball into yet another political issue.
In fact, in SCC’s official site, Bhattacharya leaves a message asking applicants to send their grievances in a structured format rather than emailing him. On SCC’s home page, the following is written about CGLE 2013. “The Delhi Police/CBI and other investigative agencies were investigating a number of complaints regarding conduct of CGLE 2013 exam. A letter from Delhi Police in this regard has recently been received. Further conduct of the CGL Examination, 2013 is under consideration of the government.” The SCC comes under the DoPT which will finally take the call on whether to scrap the exam altogether.
Early this month, some students staged a protest in front of the SSC headquarters located in New Delhi’s CGO complex. “I am extremely concerned about the future of candidates”, Bhattacharya reportedly told a delegation of demonstrators. But many who are leading the protest say their future can’t hang in balance because a few people adopted methods of cheating, leading to legal battles and probes.
“We worked hard for a year and passed the exams. now SSC is cancelling the exam, please save our future…” this Tweet by one Ranjan Singh sums it up.
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