Resident policy lacks balance, says Ajsu Party

Ranchi: The Ajsu Party on Wednesday demanded "more provisions" for the resident tribal population of Jharkhand in the new state residential policy, saying it "lacks balance"
An eight-member party delegation, led by state minister for water resources, drinking water and sanitation Chandra Prakash Choudhary and three MLAs, met chief minister Raghubar Das at his residence and suggested amendments to the policy, which defines residents living in Jharkhand before 1986 as "locals".
In its memorandum to the CM, Ajsu-P demanded "complete reservation" in appointments to the state and district level posts to candidates whose ancestors were owners of land in the state under the previous land record manual.
The party members also demanded verbal tests alongside a written component as part of the recruitment examination conducted by the state staff selection commission and Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) to facilitate candidates from tribal communities.
The party members also asked that interviews to the district level recruitments be conducted in languages spoken in that particular district.
"The resident policy passed by the cabinet lacks balance. The decision to include regional and tribal languages in JPSC examinations is a welcome step," party spokesperson Devsharan Bhagat said after the meeting on Wednesday.
"There should be certain changes made to the resident policy to ensuredivasis and moolvaasis are given their rights," Bhagat added.