THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Some of the woman civil police officer (WCPO) job aspirants who figure on the rank list on Monday cut their hair in protest after the state Public Service Commission board decided to not extend the validity of their list which would expire at 12pm on August 4.
The CPO aspirants have been staging a protest in front of the secretariat here for the past 15 days. The protest venue in front of the Secretariat witnessed sombre moments on Monday when more than a dozen woman CPO post aspirants cut their hair. They also kicked off their ‘Nilppu Samaram’ (standing strike).
The protestors alleged that the Kerala Armed Women Police Battalion was constituted in 2017. Since then, the state government has not increased its workforce. S Aswathy, who is ranked 1,185 among a total of 2,078 aspitants on the list, told TNIE that the PSC had extended their rank list just for a day.
After February this year, not a single appointment was made. “Our two demands are extending the rank list by three months and increasing the women’s representation to 15% from the existing 8.67%. The chief minister had claimed in the assembly that 10% women representation has been ensured which is not true,” said Kizhattoor native Aswathy. The WCPO aspirants have decided to roll on the road on Tuesday in front of the secretariat in protest against the LDF government’s adamant stand.