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

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: 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. 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.

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 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," 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," the Opposition leader said. Citing another case, he said advertisements were issued on September 23, 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 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.