Cong slams Guj govt over cancellation of exam for clerk's post

Congress on Saturday lashed out at the BJP-led Gujarat government for canceling an examination for recruitment of non-secretariat clerks and office assistants due to changes in the eligibility criteria.

More than 10 lakh candidates have applied for 3,738 posts of class III non-secretariat clerk and office assistant.

The examination, scheduled for October 20, was canceled on Friday due to a change in rules. Under the new rules, bachelor's degree is the minimum educational qualification for these posts and not Higher Secondary School (Class 12) Certificate.

The vacancies had been advertised last October.

The Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB) announced on its website that the examination scheduled for October 20 stands canceled, without specifying the reason and leaving the candidates in a fix.

Officials clarified on Saturday that it was canceled due to amendment to the Gujarat Non-Secretariat Clerk, Class III, Recruitment Rules, 2014, which now requires bachelor's degree as minimum educational qualification.

The amendment notification was issued by the General Administration Department on September 30.

"It reflects the government's administrative paralysis that it thinks of changing recruitment rules a year after issuing advertisement for the post...This is 'Vyapak' (extensive) scam in government recruitment, like the 'Vyapam' scam of the former BJP government in Madhya Pradesh," Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

"There is large-scale mismanagement in the examination procedure, which is why the government changed rules to further delay it," he alleged.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani also alleged that this was a scam, as crores of rupees were collected from candidates in application fees.

Reacting to the Congress's criticism, BJP leader Jitu Vaghani said, "Government took the decision for the benefit of candidates.