Candidates for JOA (IT) demonstrate outside the Himachal Assembly
On the first day of the budget session today, applicants for the position of Junior Office Assistant (IT, Code 817) protested in front of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Slogans against the state government were raised by hundreds of the candidates and their families. The demonstrators called for the announcement of the exam results as soon as feasible.
The candidates claimed during the demonstration that the administration had been just creating committees and repeatedly assuring them that the results would not be known for a long time. They went on to say that the failure to declare the outcome was ruining their lives.
One contender said, “The government should either announce the results right away or give us poison.”
They claimed that the declaration of the results had been ordered by the Supreme Court. “So, what is preventing the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government from doing this?” said a protester who wished to remain anonymous. For the last six days, the candidates have been sitting on a hunger strike.
On Tuesday, however, Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said that the release of the pending result will be decided upon at the budget session. He gave the candidates the assurance that although the state administration supported results announcement, procedures would need to be followed.
The Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Committee (HPSSC) held the test for 1,867 JOA (IT) jobs on March 21, 2021, and over one lakh aspirants showed up. After examination, which took place between August 1 and August 31, 2022, over 4,332 individuals were selected; nevertheless, the outcome remained undisclosed, even though a number of candidates filed an appeal with the High Court.
