Bengaluru, 7 August

Home and IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday met the GKVK Agricultural University students who have been protesting the alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) recruitment process. 

He addressed the protesters and said that the recruitment examinations for the posts of Agriculture Officer (AO) and Assistant Agriculture Officer (AAO), which were scheduled to be held on 8 and 9 August have been “temporarily postponed and an expert committee has been formed to bring in the necessary amendments in the rules and submit a report within 30 days.”

His presence at the event had also drawn social media users, likely Congress supporters, to compare the State Congress government’s approach with the Centre’s approach to the Jantar Mantar protests over the NEET leaks. 

Students from the Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra (GKVK), the main campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) had been protesting for weeks, and even met Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on 4 August and submitted their grievances. They have been protesting the KEA’s move to allow Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and Bachelor of Technology (BTech) graduates to apply for the AO and AAO posts.