'Reservation scam of UP govt exposed': Congress on Allahabad HC ordering fresh selection list for 69K assistant teachers

"The reservation scam in the recruitment of 69,000 teachers in Uttar Pradesh has been exposed," Congress senior leader Pawan Khera said on Saturday after the the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a fresh selection list for 69,000 assistant teachers in UP.

"The reservation scam in the recruitment of 69000 teachers in Uttar Pradesh has been exposed. The Congress party has always been of the view that Reservation is a right given by the Constitution, it will not be taken away at any cost," he wrote in a post on X.

The court directed that while preparing the new selection list, any adverse impact on the currently working assistant teachers should be mitigated by allowing them to complete the ongoing academic session. This is intended to prevent disruption in the students' education, it said.

The bench also revised the earlier order and said reserved category candidates who qualify for the general category merit list should be migrated to that category.

"Conspiracy to snatch reservation in the name of 'not found suitable'. Privatization of government institutions only to snatch away reservation. And recruitment through lateral entry is part of a well-planned conspiracy. Save Reservation- Save Constitution," the Congress leader wrote.

The court on Friday upheld the single-judge's decision to cancel the January 5, 2022, selection list of 6,800 candidates belonging to the reserved category.

The bench instructed the state government and other authorities concerned to complete the process of issuing a new selection list within three months.

The appellants had challenged the single-judge's decision, arguing that the reservation provided by state officials in the selection of 69,000 teachers was not accurate, and questioned the validity of the appointment of the 6,800 teachers.

The single-judge had ruled that candidates who benefited from reservations in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) should not be considered under the unreserved category, even if they scored the cut-off marks for the general category.

(With PTI inputs)