SALAR NEWS

BJP slams Cong govt for 'mishandling' KPSC civil services exam

Raising the issue in the Assembly, the Leader of Opposition, R Ashoka, said the KPSC had called for applications from eligible candidates to fill 384 Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) posts, but the exam was postponed four times.

PTI

https://salarnews.in/public/uploads/images/newsimages/maannewsimage04032025_223543_bjp.webp

In December 2023, a three-member committee was formed, but all its members resigned due to dissatisfaction with the interference of KPSC officials.

Bengaluru, 4 Mar

The BJP on Tuesday slammed the Congress government for "mishandling" the civil services examination conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission.

The party demanded the shutdown of the KPSC and revamp the institution in line with the Union Public Service Commission, and punishment for the erring officials responsible for the bungling.

Finally, on August 27, 2024, the preliminary exam was held. The paper had questions in Kannada on one side and English on the other. It was later found that 59 questions in Kannada did not match their English counterparts, creating a lot of furore, Ashoka alleged.

He said the questions in English should have been the translated version of the Kannada questions, not the other way around. "But the KPSC officials first prepared the question paper in English and then translated it into Kannada. It’s not our Kannada but ‘Google Kannada’," Ashoka said.

According to him, various litterateurs and pontiffs from different hermitages in Karnataka demanded that the exams be conducted again.

Ashoka read out Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s post, which stated, "Those responsible for the lapse have been relieved of their duties. The upcoming examination will be conducted with the utmost responsibility and accountability. We remain committed to upholding the integrity of our recruitment process."

However, the KPSC secretary downplayed the seriousness of the CM’s tweet by writing on 'X' that hardworking students enjoyed the question paper, he alleged.

"Gangadhar’s tweet is an insult to Kannada and students writing the exam in Kannada because the mistake was in Kannada, not in English," he charged.

The BJP leader said that Rs 15 crore was spent to conduct the exam, but after its cancellation, the money went down the drain. Another Rs 15 crore was allocated to re-conduct the exam.

"The re-exam was held, and 79 mistakes were found. All the injustice happened to Kannada students," Ashoka claimed.

Besides this, the KPSC sent question papers meant for Vijayapura to Ramanagara, while those for Ramanagara were sent to Kolar. People from Kolar were enraged and boycotted the exam, he added.

"So much negligence. If the KPSC cannot conduct the exam properly, then why should it exist? Shut it down," Ashoka fumed.

"Two lakh youth wrote the exam seeking jobs. The government should try to understand their pain when they are called unemployed. They face pressure at home and outside," the Opposition leader said.

Citing another case, he said advertisements were issued on 23 September, 2023, to fill 28 assistant executive posts in the Rural Drinking Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

A candidate, Anand S Siddareddy, who took the exam, submitted a detailed complaint to the KPSC about malpractice. After reviewing the complaint, the KPSC found merit in it.

In December 2023, a three-member committee was formed, but all its members resigned due to dissatisfaction with the interference of KPSC officials.

On March 14, 2024, the KPSC formed a five-member committee led by Vijay Kumar Kuchanur. The committee held 40 meetings and asked 24 candidates to submit carbon copies of their OMR sheets. Only 20 submitted them.

Four candidates claimed they had lost their OMR sheets, which raised suspicion, prompting the committee to send the sheets for forensic examination.

After reviewing the FSL report, the committee produced a 500-page report. The investigation revealed that 10 candidates had engaged in malpractice, the Leader of the Opposition claimed.

In the Commercial Tax Inspector (CTI) exam, a candidate who topped had also written the First Division Assistant (FDA) and Second Division Assistant (SDA) exams, the BJP leader said.

"In the FDA and SDA exams, the CTI topper had scored just 11.5 out of 100 due to negative marking. But in the CTI exam, he scored 166 out of 166. In just two months, his intelligence level shot up," Ashoka sarcastically remarked.

He added that another candidate, who secured the 16th rank in the CTI exam, had scored just one mark in the FDA and SDA exams.

Replying to the BJP’s charges, State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said various serious issues regarding the KPSC’s functioning had come to light.

"In this context, we need to take a stand on protecting students writing the Kannada exam and on how question translations are handled. We will respond to the allegations regarding the KPSC’s functioning tomorrow," Patil said.

Explaining the reason behind the translation-related issue, Minister Priyank Kharge said that a High Court order mandated that a person outside the Karnataka cadre be appointed as KPSC chairperson to avoid 'bias'.

"Due to excessive reliance on technology, our people have suffered injustice. We conducted two meetings with the Karnataka Examination Authority and the KPSC to prevent mistakes," Kharge said.

The minister added that the cabinet had discussed bringing reforms to the KPSC.

"It would be a betrayal of the people if we don’t bring reforms to the KPSC. We are concerned," Kharge said.