Jagan challenges Andhra CM Chandrababu for CBI probe in both DSC, Group I exams

Amaravati, Aug 20 (IANS) Former Chief Minister and YSRCP President, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, on Thursday challenged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to order a CBI enquiry into both the alleged irregularities in DSC 2025 and the APPSC Group I examination.

Asserting that his party was ready for a probe into Group I examination held during YSRCP rule, he asked whether the TDP-led coalition government was prepared to subject the DSC issue to the same scrutiny.

Addressing a press conference, Jagan Mohan Reddy said, contrary to the allegations levelled by the coalition, APPSC 2018 exams were conducted in a transparent manner and as per Court directives, giving no room for any misappropriation.

“On the other hand, the conduct of DSC has been shady right from setting of question paper to the recruitment,” he said.

The YSRCP chief claimed that both Chandrababu Naidu and his son and Education Minister Nara Lokesh admitted irregularities in the Assembly but did not allow the topic to come up in the Council.

The YSRCP has been boycotting Assembly over denial of Leader of Opposition status to its leader while the party has been participating in the proceedings of the Council.

Giving a detailed account of the alleged irregularities in DSC, he said the setting of question paper and conduct of DSC was given to the same institution which opened the floodgates for corruption and paper leakage.

This is how the outsourcing employee Naveen had access to the question paper and had topped the marks list. Once the issue came into the open, his name was deleted in the second merit list and he moved court stating his details were deleted, he said.

“In the sports quota, the government has issued two GOs exempting the job aspirants from writing the DSC exam. After the favoured people were taken in, the gates were closed by issuing two more GOs negating the earlier ones. In the process, 372 people got jobs and the government has put up a meek defence by stating that as we have given a job to PV Sindhu, the same norms apply to others in sports quota,” he said.

The former Chief Minister stated that none of the 372 people recruited have played international tournaments and the one who won a gold medal in Archery in the National Games was denied job.

“There are audio clippings which went viral on the job trading but no action was taken. This is why the DSC needs to be probed by CBI and the Education Minister should resign,” he said.

The YSRCP chief alleged that to save the skin of Lokesh, the ruling coalition raked up APPSC issue “But the fact remains that it was conducted in the most transparent manner. The preliminary exams were held when Chandrababu was the Chief Minister. What we have done is the conduct of final exams to those who passed the preliminary exam. With the coalition raising the Group I issue, the future of 163 high-ranking officials is put in jeopardy,” he said.

He explained that due to Covid the government had planned to go for digital evaluation but on court direction manual evaluation was done.

He claimed that it was done in the glare of CCTVs in the APPSC office and in educational institutions. The evaluation was done in a jumbling method and bar code was used and there is no scope of the evaluator knowing the aspirant.

“We have brought in reforms in the exam system and the allegation of tampering with the marks does not arise and it is done only to underplay the seriousness of DSC scam from leakage to appointments which deserve CBI enquiry and the resignation of Education Minister. Increase the scope of the CBI enquiry and bring the Group I exams under its purview as well,” he added.

–IANS

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