On Saturday, tumultuous scenes unfolded both inside and outside the ruling BJP’s state office in Lucknow as hundreds of candidates seeking government teaching jobs attempted to storm the party’s headquarters. The situation escalated into a confrontation with police, resulting in the use of force to disperse the demonstrators.
The protesters, alleging malpractice in the teacher recruitment process initiated for 69,000 posts, demanded immediate appointments from the Education Department. They accused BJP activists and police of brutally assaulting them.
The U.P. police detained the protesting aspirants and temporarily held them at Eco Garden park before releasing them.
The candidates have been engaged in a protracted struggle against the U.P. government over this issue, staging demonstrations at the Education Directorate, other government offices, and the State Education Minister’s residence.
In June 2020, the release of the merit list for 69,000 teachers triggered a wave of petitions in courts. In March 2023, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court canceled one merit list for 6,800 reserved category candidates and instructed the State government to re-evaluate the entire merit list.
“The merit list for 6,800 reserved category candidates was released two years ago, but we have yet to receive our appointment letters. Today, we went to the BJP office to meet State president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, but we were mercilessly beaten by BJP activists and police. If our demands are not met, we will be forced to demonstrate outside the State Legislature,” remarked a disgruntled protester.