Frustrated by the government’s continued silence over the fate of the 2019 MSPDCL and MSPCL recruitment examination, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the All Manipur MSPDCL & MSPCL Exam Completed Candidates, 2019 has announced a 24-hour statewide general strike beginning from midnight of July 31, intensifying its agitation over the prolonged delay in the recruitment process.
Announcing the strike, JAC member Yumkhaibam Manoj said the candidates have exhausted all democratic means to seek justice but have received no response from the government. He said the recruitment examination for 907 Group C and Group D posts under the Manipur State Power Distribution Company Limited (MSPDCL) and the Manipur State Power Company Limited (MSPCL) was conducted in 2019, yet the results have remained undisclosed for nearly seven years.
Manoj said that the candidates had repeatedly submitted memorandums to successive governments, sought appointments with the Chief Minister and organised several peaceful protests, but their grievances have been consistently ignored. He said repeated attempts to meet the Chief Minister were unsuccessful, leaving thousands of qualified candidates in uncertainty and emotional distress.
The JAC maintained that instead of cancelling the recruitment process during the period of President’s Rule, the government should revoke the cancellation order and immediately declare the examination results. According to the candidates, the prolonged delay has deprived many aspirants of employment opportunities, while several have crossed the upper age limit for other government recruitments.
The candidates recently attempted to march to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat to submit their demands but alleged that they were denied an audience.
Warning that patience among the aspirants has reached its limit, the JAC said the 24-hour general strike would be only the beginning of a larger democratic movement if the government fails to revoke the cancellation and announce the long-pending results.
