TSPSC paper leak: KTR plans legal notices to Bandi Sanjay, Revanth Reddy; Governor wants status report in 2 days

In other developments, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has asked for a comprehensive status report within the next 48 hours.

ByRaj Rayasam

Published Mar 24, 2023 | 2:50 AMUpdatedMar 24, 2023 | 2:50 AM

In a statement, KTR slammed Modi for his recent comments against the BRS government. (Twitter)

Apparently incensed by TPCC president A Revanth Reddy and BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s repeated accusations of he being responsible for the TSPSC exam question paper leak, BRS working president and Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao on Thursday, 23 March, stated that he was issuing legal notices to them.

Terming their allegations against him as mala fide and politically motivated, the minister urged students not to be led astray by their utterances.

He said that legal notices were being issued to them for trying to malign not only his but also the Telangana government’s image.

This, even as Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan demanded a status report on the investigation within 48 hours.

‘Plan to derail recruitment process’

KTR said the attempts of the two leaders were meant only to derail the process of recruitment of youths to government jobs.

“They are trying to use one unfortunate incident that has occurred in the TSPSC as a lever to defame the government and harm the future of the students,” he said.

KTR also stated that it was unfortunate that the leaders did not know that the TSPSC was autonomous and that the government had no role in its functioning.

They were just trying to carry out a campaign of calumny against the government, which if the students believed would land them in trouble, he alleged.

“I am appealing to students to prepare for the examinations as the recruitment process is going on,” he said.

Also read: TSPSC paper leak: BJP to organise ‘maha dharna’ on 25 March

Legal notices

KTR said that both the Congress and the BJP were trying to rake up the issue out of spite for the BRS for taking up recruitment to government jobs on a scale not witnessed anytime in the past.

“I will not tolerate their attempts to tarnish my image with unfounded allegations,” he said.

He reminded both parties that they had become a laughing stock for the people as their statements were rooted in ignorance of how a government functions.

Revanth Reddy had said, in the past, that a ₹10,000 crore scam had taken place in Telangana in the procurement and administration of vaccines against Covid-19, and that the state secretariat buildings were being pulled down for Nizam’s jewellery, which he had said were buried underneath the old constructions.

The BJP, for its part, always tried to foment communal passions, stated KTR.

Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s comments on the demolition of mosques had made him a butt of ridicule, he added.

“If political power goes into the hands of either, it would be like a stone in the hands of a lunatic,” he said.

Also read: BJP MP roasted for ‘anything with domes is a mosque’ remark

‘Campaign against BRS government’

KTR said that the Congress and the BJP were carrying out a campaign against the government since they wanted an immediate halt to the ongoing recruitment drive.

These leaders, in the past, described the very issuance of notification of recruitment as a major conspiracy, which makes one wonder if they wanted the youths to stop preparing for the examinations and start working as activists of their parties, said KTR.

They were trying to attribute every suicide happening in the state to the question paper leak only to lower the morale of the students, he claimed.

KTR reassured the students that the TSPSC has already initiated several measures to make the recruitment process foolproof.

He appealed to the students to understand that the examinations that would be held in the future would have so many safeguards built into their conduct that question paper leakages or any other irregularity would not take place.

Also read: Revanth Reddy meets Governor, demands dissolution of TSPSC

Governor steps in 

In other developments, the investigation into the question paper leak took a serious turn on Thursday, 23 March, with Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan asking for a comprehensive status report within the next 48 hours.

A Raj Bhavan communique said that it was writing to the chief secretary, the TSPSC, and the Director-General of Police on the instructions of the Telangana Governor.

The Raj Bhavan asked them to give the status report on the alleged leakage, including the progress of the Special Investigation Team’s probe.

The Raj Bhavan also asked the TSPSC, specifically, to furnish details of its regular and outsourced employees who appeared for examinations — with or without the permission of the commission — their performance in the examinations, and the details of their preparatory leave, apart from giving the present status of the case.

Also read: Fee waived for those reappearing in cancelled TSPSC exams