New Delhi,Dec,10:A visually challenged girl who cleared the UPSC Civil Services examination in 2008 is still struggling to get her appointment to one of the most coveted cadre jobs in the India, continues her fight to enter the system even as valuable time flies by.
Despite favourable judgments by the Central Administrative Tribunal(CAT) in October 2010 and the Apex Court on January 28, 2011, following which the UPSC recommended her name for appointment, bureaucrates of the country continue to plague 29-year-old Purnima Jain's entry into a job she attained after much hardship.
The Indore-resident also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 29 along with CPM politburo member Brinda Karat to apprise him of her long struggle for a well-deserved job. “This is gross discrimination by the Department of Personnel and Training against brilliant students. The DoPT's attitude is that where are we going to place people without normal eyesight. Instead of congratulating and rewarding such students, you make them lose years of valuable public service they could have otherwise offered. The Prime Minister said he was not aware of the issue facing such students. He promised to rectify the injustice caused to Ms. Purnima and others,” recalled Brinda Karat, on the meeting Ms. Purnima and six other qualified candidates, had with Dr. Singh.
In a memorandum to PM Manmohan Singh, Ms. Purnima wrote: “I, Purnima Jain, am a visually impaired (VH) girl (partially blind). I am a law graduate with 80 per cent marks. I have done M.A. in Public Administration and have qualified N.E.T and J.R.F in Public Administration…I appeared for Civil Service Examination 2008, and secured 1,123 marks. The UPSC had given me excellent marks in interview - 210 marks out of 300-and yet did not consider me for selection.”
Ms. Purnima said the last person who got selected in 2008 had scored only a total of 991. “I wish to bring to your notice that I am the only VH female candidate securing higher marks. I also wish to assert that despite talent and having performed so well I have been unreasonably denied the success which I duly deserve to get and still remain unemployed. As the matter has been delayed by about two years, this requires an urgent intervention by you and, therefore, a prompt and timely action shall be of great help to me,” Ms. Purnima said in her memorandum.
“Sir, I have lived my dream to become an IAS officer and have pursued it as the purpose of my life. Today my eyes seem to have become the enemy of my dreams. I shall be highly obliged to you, if the process of my appointment to the Indian Administrative Service or Indian Foreign Service is expedited to help facilitate this blind girl and shall be thankful to you all my life.”
Ms. Purnima said that going by the provisions of Section 33 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, there were to be nine seats reserved for visually challenged persons in 2008 but the UPSC selected only four persons.
“Though the CAT order had raised my hopes by directing the UPSC to act within six months to appoint me, their inaction even after a year of the judgment is unpardonable,” Ms. Purnima added, wryly pointing out that another World Disability Day had just gone by.
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