RRB NTPC exam protest: Will resolve grievances, says Rail Minister

Amid protests against alleged irregularities in Railway Recruitment Boards’ Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB-NTPC) exam, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday asked students to not destroy public property and assured them that their grievances would be resolved.

The minister urged students to submit their grievances by February 16 and issued fresh directions to all RRBs. Besides, an email address has also been set up for this purpose. In addition to this, the RRB has also decided to suspend its NTPC and Level 1 tests.

Earlier in the day, the railway ministry suspended the RRB NTPC and the Level 2 exams after reports of vandalism by job aspirants from different parts of the country came to light.

Thousands of students went on a rampage across the country over alleged irregularities in a recruitment exam by the public transporter. The Railway RRB-NTPC exam 2021 result was announced on January 15.

Vaishnaw has asked all RRB chairmen to listen to the grievances regarding the NTPC exams and compile them before sending them to the committee that has been set up to examine the grievances of those who have appeared in the exams under different RRBs.

The decision was taken in light of the worsening law and order situation in Bihar where train services have been disrupted by job seekers over the past few days.

The Railway Minister said, “The committee will go to different parts of the country and listen to the grievances of the students.” The panel will be headed by Deepak Peter Gabriel, Principal Executive Director of Human Resources in the Railway ministry.

The committee will later submit a report to the Railway Ministry after listening to all the parties. Vaishnaw further assured that the government will seriously address the concerns raised by the students.

The Railways has also warned that those found involved in vandalism and unlawful activities while protesting will be barred from ever getting recruited to the department.