Uttar Pradesh has tightened its character verification rules for government jobs, making candidates involved in violent activities aimed at bringing about a “regime change” ineligible for appointment.
The move has drawn attention as it comes amid allegations by the BJP that some protesters involved in the recent youth-led agitation had called for regime change in India along the lines of Bangladesh.
The revised rules, issued by Principal Secretary M. Devaraj, state that candidates found to have participated in violent activities aimed at bringing about a regime change could be deemed ineligible for government employment.
The new rules, however, has clarified that a candidate’s political ideology would not be grounds for disqualification. The mere registration of an FIR or the pendency of an investigation would also not make a candidate ineligible, sayd a News18 report.
However, members of organisations whose stated objective is to bring about regime change through violent means would be considered ineligible for appointment.
The revised provisions will apply to candidates selected through direct recruitment. Those already serving in government departments will not be required to undergo character verification under the new rules.
The changes come days after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a strong warning against those seeking to create anarchy in the country amid the CJP-led protests in Delhi.
“In a democracy, the path to power flows from the mandate of the people, not from chaos. Forces dreaming of a change of power in India on the lines of Bangladesh want to place the tools of anarchy in the hands of the youth instead of the torch of nation-building,” he said in a post on X.
Adityanath’s remarks came amid a controversy after AISA leader Neha Bora, who emerged as a prominent face of the protesters, credited Bangladesh’s 2024 Gen Z uprising with “showing us the way”.
Bora made the remarks while virtually addressing a conference of the Socialist Students’ Front (SSF), described as Bangladesh’s largest left-wing student organisation.
