From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Mar 20: Despite the legal hurdles, the state government is committed to appointment of 2011 the batch of 362 candidates selected by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) for the gazetted probationers (Group A and Group B) posts. This was announced by chief minister B S Yediyurappa in reply to the debate on the issue in the State Legislative Assembly on Friday. Yediyurappa said, "We will take a suitable decision after discussing the issue in the State Cabinet."
Earlier, Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister J C Madhuswamy said the government was sympathetic towards candidates who have been selected for the posts. "The State Government has been considering various options whether promulgating an ordinance or executive order or go before the court on the issue of appointment," he said. In 2017, the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) has rejected the state government’s order on the rejection of selection of the probationers. Citing 'corruption' and 'malpractices' in the selection of candidates by the KPSC, the Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah had rejected the appointment of the probationers. Later, the officers following the rejection, 362 KAS probationers went on indefinite hunger strike opposing Cabinet’s decision. The Criminal Investigation Department had conducted a probe and 26-page report was submitted to the government.
Senior Congress leader H K Patil and other members said that injustice was meted out to selected candidates for no fault of theirs. "Bringing an ordinance is the best option to resolve the issue," Patil said.
The minister said there was no iota of evidence to prove the involvement of corruption by members of the KPSC or candidates selected for the post. The CID instead of submitting the report to the court had submitted the report to the government, he commented. During the discussion, Congress opposition leader Siddaramaiah said 'the only way out is an ordinance.'
Bring an ordinance to help 362 candidates selected by the KPSC, he suggested.