Bangalore: No Railway Quota for Kannadigas: Lalu
DHNS
Bangalore, Feb 12: "Only competition, no reservation," Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav quipped in response to a newsperson's query on the demand being made in some quarters for reservation for Kannadigas in Railway jobs in the State.
Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has ruled out introducing any reservation for Kannadigas in Class ‘D’ posts in the Indian Railways. “Only competition, no reservation,” Lalu quipped in response to a newsperson’s query on the demand being made in some quarters for reservation for Kannadigas in Railway jobs in the State.
The Railway minister was in Bangalore to inaugurate a model railway station at Yeshwantpur on Monday. Lalu said no preference will be given for anyone in recruitments.
When asked for his comments on Raj Thackeray’s utterances on “outsiders” in Mumbai, Lalu made a gesture to indicate that the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena chief was mentally unbalanced.
Earlier, a 20-strong Kannada Rakshana Vedike group staged a protest in front of a train that was to be flagged off by Lalu Yadav and a few even climbed atop it. They were protesting against the large presence of non-natives in Railway jobs in the State. Police took them into preventive custody.
A minor altercation took place between the police and photojournalists when the latter sought to move closer to the minister to get a better view of him when he entered the Yeshwantpur railway station. The policemen screamed at the lensmen, who were keen on getting the best shot.
Dirty people!
Tumkur, dhns: Police resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists staging a black flag demonstration against Lalu Yadav when he arrived at the railway station here on Monday.
In the melee, Deputy Commissioner S R Umashankar could not hand over the bouquets brought for the minister.
The protest left Lalu fuming. When reporters met him, the trademark smile was missing. Asked why Kannadigas were not getting priority in Railway recruitments, Lalu merely said: “Dirty people.”