CCE to Proceed as Scheduled, Says JKPSC Chairman
Srinagar/Jammu ~The JKPSC on Saturday announced that the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) will proceed as scheduled, despite the tension between the Lok Bhavan and the Omar Abdullah government over demands for age relaxation and calls to postpone the exam.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had earlier urged the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) to consider postponing the CCE, scheduled on Sunday, in view of the flight cancellations and the “uncertainty” resulting from Lok Bhavan’s “delay” in approving age relaxation for the aspirants.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, however, said he returned the file the same day with a query about the possibility of holding the examination on the scheduled date if the upper age limit were relaxed.
“The CCE remains on schedule as of now,” JKPSC chairperson A K Choudhary told PTI in a brief statement on Saturday evening.
However, he declined to comment further on the subject.
The age relaxation debate has sparked significant controversy, as the elected government, political parties, and aspirants are advocating for the exam to be postponed, while Lok Bhavan insists it is not delaying the decision.
Referring to the situation as extraordinary, Chief Minister Abdullah, in a letter to the JKPSC chairman, said the ongoing disruption in the air services has caused widespread travel chaos across the region, and it has been “further compounded by the prevailing uncertainty arising due to the delay in the proposal regarding age relaxation – an enabling provision that has been extended multiple times in the past”.
“Together, these factors have placed unprecedented mental and logistical stress on the competing candidates,” he said.
Abdullah said, keeping in mind the principles of fairness, equity and equal opportunity for all aspirants, “I would urge the commission to take cognisance of the prevailing circumstances and consider postponement of the forthcoming examination by a reasonable duration, purely in the interest of the candidates.”
“I am confident that the commission, as always, will take a compassionate and balanced view of the matter in the larger public interest,” the letter from the chief minister read.
However, the lieutenant governor said the claims that the Lok Bhavan had caused a delay were “misleading”.
Sinha took to X, stating that the file was returned on December 2 with a query, but there was no follow-up from the government.
He said that the query was directed to the JKPSC to determine if it was logistically feasible to conduct the CCE after altering eligibility norms at such a late stage.
“Social media posts with regard to the JKPSC exam are misleading. Lok Bhavan had received the file on December 2, which was categorically related to age relaxation only. File was returned the same day, Dec 2, with a query whether it is logistically possible to conduct the exam on December 7, by incorporating modifications in eligibility criteria at such a belated stage,” Sinha said in a post on his official handle on X.
Despite four days passing, he noted that there had been no response from the government. “I fully sympathise with young aspirants,” he added.
The post said that the advertisement for the examination was published by the JKPSC on August 22, with the exam scheduled for December 7, as announced in a notice on November 6.
The ruling National Conference (NC) argued that if the concern was truly for students and their well-being, “then why were queries raised on a process that they themselves had followed for years without any objection?”
“If this was not a deliberate attempt to delay the process, then what is? Our intent is transparent. The elected government had already sent the proposal for relaxation, and now the Hon’ble Chief Minister @OmarAbdullah Sb has sent a proposal to the Chairman, JKPSC, to postpone the exams. All that is required is for them to act without any further delay!” NC chief spokesperson and MLA Zadibal, Tanvir Sadiq, said on X.
He said if the chief minister had already sent the file after approval, “there was absolutely no reason for any further queries”.
“What was considered correct for the last many years remains correct today. The CM has categorically stated that the exams should have been postponed,” he said.
Hitting out at the Leader of Opposition in the J-K assembly, Sunil Sharma, Sadiq said instead of indulging in “petty politics” in this dual power centre, “LoP Sunil Sharma should use his energy to exert pressure on Lok Bhawan”.
“It’s simple and clear: 1. Relaxation must be granted. 2. Exams must be postponed. This is the unanimous view of the elected government and every single person in the National Conference. Anything beyond this from anyone else is a lie or mere whataboutery,” he said.
The NC’s estranged Srinagar Lok Sabha MP, Ruhullah Mehdi, also wrote a letter to the JKPSC chairman seeking postponement of the CCE due to “serious travel difficulties” being faced by several aspirants.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti has urged both the lieutenant governor and the chief minister to resolve the issue promptly.
“Aspirants of the JKPSC CCE are caught in a tussle between the LG and the CM. In this freezing cold, they are out on the streets asking for nothing more than basic fairness -age relaxation and a reasonable exam schedule. I urge @OfficeOfLGJandK and @OmarAbdullah to step in and resolve this issue without any further delay,” Mufti said on X.
Senior CPI(M) leader and MLA from Kulgam, M Y Tarigami, voiced concerns about conducting the test on Sunday while a crucial decision on age relaxation is still pending, placing aspirants at a “clear disadvantage”.
“The proposal to enhance the upper age limit for JKAS aspirants has been forwarded to Raj Bhavan (Lok Bhavan) for approval, even as the examination is scheduled to commence tomorrow. Conducting the test while such a crucial decision is still pending places aspirants at a clear disadvantage,” Tarigami said in a post on X.
Referring to the flight disruptions, he noted that many candidates travelling from outside Jammu and Kashmir are stranded due to flight cancellations.
“The examination must be deferred until the approval process is duly concluded,” he added. ~ PTI
