UPSC ad leads to tension in Rajasthan over surname

Jaipur, Oct 22 (IANS) A recent advertisement released by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to fill the position of Company Prosecutor in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs triggered a caste dispute in Rajasthan.
As per the advertisement, only those candidates with Meena surname will be considered as Scheduled Tribes. Eventually, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has to intervene and shoot a series of tweets.
The CM, citing the answer given in the High Court, described Meena and Mina as the same caste and said the only difference is in the spelling.
Gehlot in his tweet said, “The Union Public Service Commission has issued an advertisement for recruitment to the post of Company Prosecutor in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. In this ad, candidates belonging to #Mina caste are considered eligible for the benefit of reservation by considering them as Scheduled Tribes, while candidates with #Meena surname are not considered eligible.”
“Scheduled Tribe certificates have been issued to people with both surnames Meena/Mina in Rajasthan. The government of Rajasthan had written a letter to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in 2018 to issue clarification by the Central Government clarifying the situation in the context of the Meena/Mina dispute, to which the Centre has not yet responded,” the CM said.
“In Rajasthan, there is no such dispute on this issue. The state government will write a letter to the central government issuing a clarification that Meena and Mina are the same to end this dispute,” he tweeted.

- Advertisement -