File photo of Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu
Alleging malpractices in the 2014 South Eastern Railway (SER) recruitment exam, a group of
candidates and members of Forward Bloc's youth wing today blocked the convoy of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
Carrying posters and shouting slogans, the youngsters lied down in front of the gate of a five-star hotel as soon as the cars tried to get inside.
Mr Prabhu was forced to get out of the car and walk his way inside the hotel to speak at a session organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce.
The minister spoke with the protesters and assured them of looking into their grievances after they submitted a memorandum to him.
Later on, Mr Prabhu said he has already addressed the issue by making sure that all examinations in future will be conducted online.
"Why should we have a process in which touts and others benefit and hoodwink people? This is something that we are trying to change. The decision was taken after the first few days in office to bring in transparency, more accountability to people and motivating our employees," he said.
Abdur Rauf, secretary of Forward Bloc's youth wing Yuva League, alleged that the Railway authorities had deleted some names from the results of the 2014 SER recruitment exam.
"They added new names and deleted older ones which was published on the website. We want the minister to take action against the culprits and give jobs to the deserving candidates whose names were announced initially," he told PTI.
Police sources said no one was arrested or detained in the incident.