UPPSC Protests: Yogi Adityanath Paying For Bureaucrats' Mistakes With His Own Reputation?

The aspirants who were protesting against the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) have been pacified now.

However, we must still take a look at how the Yogi Adityanath government mishandled the protests.

After four days of protest, the UPPSC announced that the Provincial Civil Service (PCS) preliminary exam would be conducted in a single shift on a single day while keeping the decision on the Review Officer (RO)-Assistant Review Officer (ARO) exam on hold.

The protesters demanded both exams to be conducted in single shifts to avoid using normalisation, which, according to them, introduces arbitrariness and opacity in the exam results.

However, since the assurance of a single-shift exam was not given for the RO-ARO exam like it was for the PCS prelims, some protesters decided to continue protests until their demand was fully met.

Critics argue that conducting the PCS preliminary exam in a single shift was an easy decision because of the fewer candidates compared to the RO-ARO exam and, hence, the decision should have been taken immediately, rather than after prolonged protests.

They say that if the UPPSC took four days to arrive at a decision, the announcement should have been comprehensive, rather than leaving the decision on the RO-ARO exam to a committee.

Besides the delay and incomplete resolution, the conduct of the UP government officials has come across as insensitive, because of which the reputation of the UP government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken a hit.

On the first day of protests, the students were not allowed to protest outside the UPPSC office and were instead asked to move to the designated protest site.

It seemed as if the UPPSC officials were waiting for students to get worn out and end the protests on their own. No one from the UPPSC came to meet the protesting aspirants on the first day.

On the second day, the UPPSC secretary met the students but asserted that the exams would be conducted in multiple shifts to reduce the chance of a paper leak by limiting test centres, and that normalisation would be used.

Some leaders in the government even tried to link the students with the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP). A lathicharge ensued and some protesters were detained.

Chaos erupted on the fourth day of protests when the police started forcefully pushing out the protesters. The protests intensified thereafter as the barricades were broken down. A truce was reached by evening, however.

This recap of the four days shows how UP government administration managed to turn a 'students versus UPPSC' issue into a 'students versus the Yogi administration' battle.

Since the protests have eased, and were short-lived, they may not cast an impact on the 2027 assembly election. But it wouldn't be right to say that this bureaucratic act alone has harmed Yogi's reputation.

Reports of UP government officials' misconduct frequent the newspapers. For instance, a 'job scam' has come to light. It concerns recruitment for various positions in the UP Assembly and Legislative Council.

Calling it 'shocking', Allahabad High Court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter. The Indian Express revealed that nearly a fifth of these jobs were awarded to the relatives of officials who oversaw the exams.

Amid reports of corruption in several departments of the UP government, many farmers are reportedly struggling to get di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser in the rabi growing season and allege diversion of fertiliser stocks to the wealthy.

It's not like Adityanath hasn't acted to rein in the erring officers. There are frequent transfers and swift disciplinary action when someone is proven guilty. The officers' conduct, either indicating corruption or arrogance, is nevertheless harming Yogi's reputation.