Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], February 16 (ANI): Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jairam Thakur held a meeting with the protesting junior officer assistant (IT) candidates and assured them he would take up the issue regarding the exam results in the assembly on Friday afternoon.
Candidates who appeared for the post of junior office assistant (JOA) in Himachal Pradesh have been staging a protest and hunger strike, demanding immediate action from the state government to release the pending exam results.
Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur reached Chauda Maidan in Shimla on the third day of the budget session in the state assembly to meet the JOA IT candidates sitting on strike.
While interacting with the candidates, Thakur said he raised the issue in the House yesterday also and alleged that the present Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Sukhu government enjoys stopping the work procedure rather than getting it done.
He said that despite the orders of the Supreme Court, the recruitment process has not been taken forward yet and that due to this, the candidates have to sit on protests in such cold weather.
Taking a dig at the present Sukhu government, Jairam Thakur said that this government is fond of stopping work and that is the reason why the government has not given any new employment even after promising one lakh jobs.
The protesting candidates have threatened to carry out their hunger strikes until their demands are met and have sat in protest in Chaura Maidan, near Himachal Pradesh's Vidhan Sabha for the past few days.
Earlier last week, hundreds of job candidates, accompanied by their families, raised slogans against the government outside the Himachal Pradesh secretariat in Shimla.
Parents of the candidates emphasised the unfulfilled promises made by the ruling Congress government regarding employment opportunities for the state's youth.
Scores of youth who appeared in various examinations are waiting for results to be declared.
These job seekers and the aspirants for the different posts, where thousands of youth appeared in different examinations for thousands of posts in different departments of the state government, have warned of protests.
Speaking to ANI, Anshul Kashyap, a protester, said, "We want the government to declare our results, we shall continue our protest until the Chief Minister comes to meet us, the government is not worried about us. We are dealing with cold conditions, and youth are getting ill. The government should surrender if you are not able to deal with it. We shall continue the hunger strike until the recruitment process is started."
The demonstrations have brought attention to the growing pressure on the government to resolve the issues raised by job seekers and fulfill its commitments to empower Himachal Pradesh's youth.
As the protests and hunger strikes rise, all eyes are on the authorities to put an end to the matter quickly and ease the aspirants' concerns. (ANI)
