Patwari recruitment exam 'scam': MP Congress seeks CBI or judicial probe

BHOPAL: The opposition Congress on Friday stuck to its demand for a judicial or CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the 'patwari' (revenue department staffers) recruitment exam in Madhya Pradesh despite Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordering a stay a day earlier on the appointments of successful candidates. A Congress leader in Indore filed a PIL in the MP High Court seeking a probe into the alleged irregularities. The exam, conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board. was held on April 26 and results were declared in May and June.

However, the exam came in the eye of storm after a recent media report cited that seven out of 10 selected candidates had appeared at the same examination centre, which it claimed was located in a college run by a BJP legislator. The Congress also alleged that eight out of 10 successful candidates were from the state's Gwalior-Chambal region. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Congress MLA and former state minister Jitu Patwari said, "We want the government to scrap the April 26 exam. A fresh exam should be held and fees from candidates should be waived off. We want a Central Bureau of Investigation or judicial probe by the High Court."

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The Chouhan government is quick to demolish the dwellings of those it claims are involved in wrongdoing so why is the house of the legislator in whose college the alleged irregularities have come to light been spared, Patwari questioned. He claimed recruitment exams since 2007 were beset with irregularities and just changing the name of Vyapam, which because infamous after a admission and recruitment racket made national headlines a decade ago, will not suffice. The MP Employees Selection Board is flush with funds to the tune of Rs 775 crore and is also involved in irregularities, Patwari alleged. If the Congress comes to power (in the year-end Assembly polls), it won't charge fee from candidates for exams conducted by the MPESB, as it already has lots of funds, Patwari asserted.

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Meanwhile, Congress leader Raghunandan Singh Parmar has filed a public interest litigation in the Indore bench of the MP High Court, his lawyer Rohit Sharma told PTI. Sharma said Parmar, a former general secretary in the Congress, has sought a probe by a retired or sitting judge into the April 26 patwari recruitment exam "scam". "The exam was a big scam, with seven out of 10 toppers having written the test in the same centre in Gwalior, from where 114 candidates have been selected," Sharma said. The plea, which also seeks stay on the selection process through this exam till the probe is over, is expected to be listed for hearing shortly, the lawyer said.

The PIL, which was filed two days ago, has also sought that the MPESB should not issue advertisements for exams or conduct tests till the inquiry is completed. On Thursday, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi tweeted about the alleged irregularities and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state of ruining the future of youth and shying away from a probe. Protests calling for the scrapping of the exam and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into alleged irregularities were held in front of the Bhopal office of the MPESB, formerly known as Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal or Vyapam, and at the Indore collectorate on Thursday.

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Later, on Thursday evening, in a tweet CM Chouhan said, "Doubts are being cast on the Patwari Recruitment Test at one centre. I am putting on hold the appointments to be made on the basis of the recruitment test result. The centre’s result will be re-examined." While senior Congress leader Arun Yadav had on Wednesday called it another “Vyapam scam” and alleged only BJP-backed candidates were selected. state Home minister Narottam Mishra, also the spokesperson for the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, had denied the allegations. Yadav had claimed eight of the 10 candidates who were selected were from Gwalior-Chambal division, including seven from just one centre at a college owned by a BJP MLA.