Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday disclosed his embarrassment when the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came to a conclusion to send back to the State Assembly its resolution seeking amendment to the Presidential Order so that Hyderabad was not a free zone for public employment.
He said his persuasion with Dr. Singh and then Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram ensured that the CCPA reversed its decision and gave permission for amendment of Clause 14 (f) of the Presidential Order.
Mr. Reddy was addressing the passing out parade of 1,256 trainee sub-inspectors of police who took the recruitment exam when the free zone issue was hanging fire.
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The parade took place at the State police academy which was renamed on Thursday as the Raja Bahadur Venkatarama Reddy Andhra Pradesh Police Academy.
Mr. Reddy thanked the Prime Minister on this occasion for paving the way for the exam when the candidates went through a mental agony not sure about their fate. He praised the trainee SIs who qualified in the exam for overcoming the obstacles.
The Chief Minister said the SIs were entering a difficult career as they faced the threat of pressure to meet the challenges posed by criminals, demands of work and pressure from politicians.
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He also said 82,000 new jobs would be created in the coming months.
Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy said the size of the next batch of trainees at the academy would be as big as 2,000.
The present batch was already the biggest ever trained at the academy. She recalled the political agitations preceding the last recruitment over the free zone issue.
She lauded the Chief Minister for taking a stand not to postpone the exam at any cost.
The academy director N. Sambasiva Rao said 80 per cent of the trainees were in the age group of 25 to 30 years. Forty per cent of the trainees were also post-graduates.
He sought sanction for establishment of social sciences department and schools of equestrian and traffic training at the academy. Director General of Police V. Dinesh Reddy also spoke.