Published Jul 20, 2023 | 7:15 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 20, 2023 | 7:15 PM
Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The allegations of irregularities in the “patwari” (revenue department personnel) recruitment exam held on April 26 in Madhya Pradesh will be probed by a retired High Court judge, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday.
The Opposition Congress has been alleging foul play in the conduct of the exam, results of which were declared in May and June, as seven out of 10 successful candidates were from the same test centre in Gwalior, which was located in a college run by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator.
The Congress has also alleged that a high proportion of those who cleared the exam were from the Gwalior-Chambal region.
“Retired Justice of Honorable High Court Rajendra Kumar Verma has been appointed to probe into the Group-2, Sub Group-4 and patwari recruitment examination conducted by the Staff Selection Board,” Chouhan tweeted last night.
The inquiry committee’s recommendations will be given to the government by 31 August, said the chief minister, who on 13 July had stayed the appointments of successful candidates following allegations.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had at the time said the BJP was playing with the future of the youth and was shying away from ordering a probe into the exam conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board.
Protests were held in Bhopal and Indore after a leading Hindu newspaper carried a report on alleged irregularities.
At the time, senior Congress leader Arun 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.
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