Activists, political groups protest outside UPSC

A day after several civil services aspirants were lathi charged by Delhi Police for protesting against the introduction of Civil Services Aptitude Test(CSAT), several activist and political groups were found protesting outside UPSC on Tuesday shouting slogans against predecessor Government for degrading the value of Hindi language.

The protesters were found shouting slogans against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former education Minister Kapil Sibal for degrading the value of Hindi language which has created a condition of partiality for the candidates from Hindi medium.

"UPSC has degraded the value of Hindi medium students and aspirants by introducing C-SAT. We would not sit silent till UPSC rolls back this test," Rohit Chahal, national secretary, ABVP, said.

What is CSAT?

CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test is a compulsory part Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC annually. The CSAT-II paper carries questions on comprehension, interpersonal skills including communication skills, logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision making and problem solving, general mental ability, basic numeracy, and English language comprehension skills (of Class X level). According to some aspirants the English language medium makes difficult for students coming from Hindi medium.

The civil services examination is conducted in three stages -- preliminary, mains, and interview. There are two compulsory papers of 200 marks each in the preliminary examination. This is also known as CSAT I and CSAT II.

Aspirants also met Home Minister earlier

A group of students had carried out protests in Mukherjee Nagar and at UPSC on Monday demanding scrapping of CSAT. They want the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to postpone the civil services (preliminary) examination 2014 scheduled to be held on August 24. Several students also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier demanding change in pattern of the prestigious exam.

Government's stand

After days of protest by Civil Service Aspirants with some of them going to the extreme step of indefinite fast , the Government on Tuesday urged the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to postpone the preliminary exam scheduled next month till there is clarity on the syllabus and exam pattern.

"We are also urging upon the UPSC and the committee that was constituted to look into the matter that not only report be constituted at the earliest, considering the urgency of the matter and the concern of all sections of the society... they should also consider postponing the date of the preliminary examination," Union Minister Jitendra Singh told reporters outside Parliament on Tuesday.

Protest outside UPSC

Activists, political groups protest outside UPSC on Tuesday. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Activists, political groups burn posters of Sonia Gandhi and Kapil Sibal in protest against the introduction of Civil Services Aptitude Test(CSAT), and degradation of Hindi language at UPSC on Tuesday. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Activists, political groups protest outside UPSC on Tuesday. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Activists, political groups burn posters of Sonia Gandhi and Kapil Sibal in protest against the introduction of Civil Services Aptitude Test(CSAT), and degradation of Hindi language at UPSC on Tuesday. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Heavy security personnel deployed at UPSC to control the protest. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Activists, political groups protest outside UPSC on Tuesday. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Activists, political groups protest outside UPSC on Tuesday. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Heavy security personnel deployed at UPSC to control the protest. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Heavy security personnel deployed at UPSC to control the protest. (OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)

Protest outside UPSC

Water cannon deployed at UPSC to disperse the crowd in case of any violent protest.(OneIndia photo by Sukant Singh)