Civil Services Exam Row: Govt promises all-party meet

Aspirants continue to protest

New Delhi: Cornered over the CSAT row, government on Wednesday said that the exam this year should be allowed to be held in its current format, while promising an all-party meet to discuss the issue.

Sources said no change in the exam pattern is possible this year. However, the government might consider changes for next year's exam.

In an attempt to put an end to the row around the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), the government had announced Monday that the marks for English comprehension, which was being protested against, will not count in the final merit list.

However, opposition members in Rajya Sabha have been questioning the decision, calling it hasty.

In a brief discussion on the issue in the upper house on Wednesday, opposition members questioned the status of other languages, while some of them demanded scrapping of the CSAT altogether.

Participating in the discussion, D Raja of the Communist Party of India said, "UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) should make available question papers in all Indian languages".

Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool Congress called the government's announcement on Monday a "knee-jerk reaction".

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, however, said the step had been taken after much consideration, and was not a knee-jerk reaction.

"The government took a step after a lot of consideration and thought. This problem was started by the Congress and the UPA. Now the NDA and the BJP have come up with a proper solution for that," Naqvi said.

Responding to the debate, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Javadekar said the government would convene an all-party meeting on the issue, adding that the government was considering the issues raised by the opposition.

"We will convene an all-party meeting to seek the views of the leaders on bringing reforms in the pattern of civil services examinations conducted by the UPSC," he said.

He said that the preliminary examination scheduled for Aug 24 should be allowed to be held.

"Let us wish the candidates all the best and let the exam be held," he said.

"Government has already announced some measures in this regard and we are also considering other options as suggested by the members," he said.

Dissatisfied with the minister's response, members of the Left, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party staged a walkout.

The upper house was then adjourned till 2 pm.

Protests by the aspirants continued across the national capital on Wednesday as well.

Deputy Commissioner of Police SBS Tyagi said that at least 60 UPSC aspirants were still protesting at Jantar Mantar.

"The protesters are staging protest at Jantar Mantar for the past two days. The protest is peaceful. During the night only 15-20 protesters were sitting at the protest site, but the number increased in the day on Wednesday," Tyagi said.

Aam Aadmi Party, meanwhile, extended support to the agitating students, and demanded postponement of the exam scheduled for August 24.