TENKASI: Even as the country is witnessing a groundswell of anger over the new Agniveer recruitment policy for Indian defence forces, Tamil Nadu government has decided to scrap the 5 per cent reservation being offered for the past several years to former Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel belonging to the BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB in recruitment for constable and sub-inspector posts under the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB).
A recent recruitment notification and information brochure issued by the TNUSRB for 3,552 posts said that 5 per cent reservation is only for ex-army personnel and not CAPF personnel. Chairperson of TNUSRB Seema Agarwal said that Tamil Nadu government has so far been offering reservation to retired paramilitary forces personnel by mistake.
"Now we go strictly by the State government's order. Military and paramilitary forces are not the same. The 5 per cent reservation is only for ex-army personnel. The government has communicated this in the recruitment notification," Agarwal said.
S Vijay Kumar, a former BSF personnel, said, "The Ministry of Home Affairs through an office memorandum in 2012 advised States to extend the reservation benefits given to ex-servicemen to retired personnel of paramilitary forces or CAPF. Even before that MHA memorandum, the TNUSRB was offering the 5 per cent quota to both the groups."
"TNUSRB in a reply to my RTI application in 2011 had also said that 5% reservation is for both. This sudden cancellation of reservation has come as a shock to paramilitary forces personnel who had resigned their jobs to enter Tamil Nadu police service," he added.
Kumar said that he quit BSF last year after 21 years of service with the intention of joining Tamil Nadu police under the 5 per cent quota.
Former CAPF staff question government's U-turn on quota
"I missed the constable job opportunity by just one mark in the last selection. I am well prepared for the upcoming selection. But now I am not even eligible to apply for a job under TNUSRB. This is unacceptable. When the State government itself does a U-turn in offering post-retirement jobs to those who fought for the nation in the border for decades, how will the corporates who assure jobs for Agniveers keep their word in the future?" he asked.
Kumar demanded that Chief Minister MK Stalin must immediately intervene to restore the reservation. B Shanmugaraj, general secretary, All-India BSF Ex-servicemen Welfare Association, condemned the State government’s decision.
"Some States like Kerala are giving us exemption from paying some taxes like property tax. But the Tamil Nadu government has snatched even the existing reservation without prior notice. Hundreds of ex-CAPF personnel are serving in Tamil Nadu police under five per cent reservation," he said.
Quota a mistake, says TNUSRB
A recent recruitment notification and information brochure issued by the TNUSRB for 3,552 posts said that 5 per cent quota is only for ex-army personnel and not CAPF personnel.