THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The suicide of S Anu — a youth ranked 77 in the civil excise officer (Thiruvananthapuram) rank list of the Public Service Commission — after being unable to get a job sparked protests by the Youth Congress (YC), Muslim Youth League (YL) and Yuva Morcha (YM) on Sunday in several parts of the state. The police had to use water cannons to disperse protesters in front of the Secretariat here.
UDF leaders have put their weight behind the agitation with KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran deciding to hold a fast at Indira Bhavan protesting the state government’s betrayal of the youth.Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, who visited the bereaved family at Karakonam here, urged the LDF Government to provide a job to a family member of the deceased and also sought monetary support for them.
High drama prevailed in front of the Secretariat when YC and YL activists led a protest march which later turned violent. The police used water cannons against the protesters even as YC women leaders, Veena S Nair and Dr Riji Rasheed, tried to jump the Secretariat wall with only policemen stationed on the premises. It took a few minutes for woman police officers to reach and arrest the two, who were later remanded. In Kollam too, the YC march turned violent with several protesters, including DCC president Bindu Krishna, getting injured.
When Parassala MLA C K Hareendran, of the CPM, visited Anu’s house, local YM leaders expressed displeasure against him and the LDF government’s stand against job seekers.This was followed by Chennithala’s visit to Karakonam. He later told reporters that Anu’s suicide has come as a shock to all Malayalis.
“Anu has become a martyr to the lack of kindness of the LDF government and the PSC. While 72 persons in the rank list were given jobs in the excise department, eight more vacancies were not reported, which resulted in Anu not getting the job,” Chennithala said.
That the youngster lived in a one cent plot explained his predicament, he said. The Opposition leader also came down heavily on PSC chairman T K Sakeer and the DYFI leadership for having kept mum on the suicide of Anu.
Mullappally too met the family members of Anu. Later, he told reporters that Anu’s father, Sukumaran Nair, expressing his son’s despair at not getting a government job despite figuring in four PSC rank lists. The KPCC chief demanded a case under IPC 309 (attempt to commit suicide) be slapped on the chief minister and the PSC chairman for pushing the youth to suicide.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Anu became a scapegoat of the high-handedness of the state government and the PSC.He recalled that, during the previous UDF Government’s tenure, backdoor appointments had not taken place as PSC rank lists remained relevant. Chandy urged the government to reconsider their decision not to extend the rank lists. Former KPCC president V M Sudheeran shot off a letter to the chief minister terming Anu as a symbol of lakhs of jobless youths. He said Pinarayi and the PSC chairman should correct their mistakes.
Meanwhile, the BJP organised a protest march carrying the body of Anu. Led by Thiruvananthapuram district president V V Rajesh, BJP workers tried to march to the Cliff House, the chief minister’s official residence, carrying the body. They demanded a government job for Anu’s brother and financial assistance for his family. The agitators dispersed after the officials reportedly assured them they will visit Anu’s family to discuss the matter. Youth Congress state president Shafi Parambil, MLA, said the organisation will organise protests throughout the state seeking justice for unemployed aspirants. YC will also hold a daylong fast in front of the PSC office at Pattom on Monday, the Thiruvonam day, in protest against the PSC’s indifferent attitude to youths’ demand to have the rank lists extended.
“The statements by LDF leaders and the PSC that vacancies were scarce and that they were helpless came at the same time they were regularising temporary hands and making backdoor appointments,” Shafi told reporters in Palakkad.