Chaos reigned supreme in the Jharkhand assembly on Monday as members of the opposition demonstrated, seeking clarification from the government over the state's employment policy.
Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto adjourned the proceedings multiple times as opposition MLAs led by the BJP claimed the government was in contempt of the House as the state cabinet was taking decisions over the issue without any information to the assembly.
"The opposition had raised the issue on March 4. It appeared in the press that the government intends to implement the pre-2016 employment policy after the new policy was scrapped by the high court. As per the rule, the government should bring the new policy in the assembly first, but it did not, which is contempt of the House," BJP MLA Neelkanth Singh Munda said.
The state cabinet on Thursday approved amendments to various rules related to the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examinations, including doing away with a clause that disallowed candidates with academic certificates from institutions outside the state to appear for it.
The cabinet also gave its nod to the amendments, which among other changes, added Hindi, English and Sanskrit to the list of languages for the JSSC examination, taking the total number of languages to 15. Munda also sought clarification on the government's plan of introducing a 60-40 ratio in the employment system as reported in a section of the press.
Independent MLA Amit Yadav asked, "Is the government paving the way for giving jobs to outsiders through the 60-40 ratio? Will the government give relaxation in age due to the non-formulation of employment policy?"
In reply, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alamgir Alam said, "An employment policy was passed by the House in 2015. This government made some changes in that policy, which was scrapped by the high court. According to the decision of the court, the government is going to bring some amendments to the employment policy."
He said the government is also considering providing age relaxation to the youths. As disruptions over the issue continued, the speaker adjourned the proceedings multiple times. The BJP MLAs said they want a reply from Chief Minister Hemant Soren over the issue.
