The Government of Telangana will not spare the two suspended employees of Telangana State Public Service (TSPSC) and those behind them in thee question paper leak case, state minister K.T. Rama Rao said on Saturday.
Stating that one of the accused is an active worker of the BJP, he once again requested the Director General of Police (DGP) to investigate if there was any conspiracy to defame the government and provoke youth.
KTR addressed a news conference after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao reviewed the situation created by the leakage of question paper of an examination conducted by TSPSC for recruitment of assistant engineers in various government departments.
The case has rocked the Commission, which cancelled four examinations, including Group-I examination conducted during the last few months and decided to re-conduct the same.
The question paper leak also triggered a political row with the opposition parties demanding judicial probe or inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and resignation of minister KTR and even the chief minister.
Rejecting the demand by the opposition parties for his resignation, KTR questioned them in what way he was concerned with the case. He reminded the opposition parties that TSPSC is a constitutional body and the state government has no role in its day-to-day functioning.
“I am minister for information technology but does that mean I am responsible for every computer in the state,” he asked.
The accused employees of TSPSC had committed theft of question papers from a computer in a confidential section of the Commission and shared the same with the other accused for Rs 10 lakh.
KTR also appealed to the opposition parties not to play with the lives of the youth by instigating them against the government for their narrow political interests. “The boys are sensitive and they are upset as they have to write the exams again. I request the opposition not to provoke them,” he said.
The minister also appealed to the youth to understand the efforts being made by the government to allay any doubts by reconducting the examinations.
Stating that TSPSC had been working in a transparent manner during the last nine years due to various measures taken by the government, he said unfortunately a mistake of two individuals has bad name to the entire institution.
“It’s not the failure of the system or institution. It’s because of the mistake of two individuals that lakhs of youth are facing difficulties. We are working on how to rectify and ensure that such a thing does not happen in the future. We are consulting experts and will bring whatever reforms required,” he said.
He assured the youth that the government will not spare Praveen Kumar and Rajasekhar Reddy or whoever may be behind them. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is conducting an impartial probe and stringent action will be taken against those found involved, he said.
The minister alleged that Rajasekhar Reddy was an active worker of the BJP and had been appealing to people to support the BJP. He displayed photographs of the contract employee of TSPSC with the BJP leaders.
“If such a person is caught in the case, it raises many doubts. The police will investigate if there is a conspiracy behind this. They will find out if there is a criminal motive to defame the government and provoke youth. Who is behind this, be it from the BJP, Congress or BRS there is no question of sparing them,” he said.
KTR claimed that when TSPSC was issuing notifications for recruitments in the government departments, BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar was calling it a conspiracy. The BJP leader had alleged that the government was keeping youth busy with exams thus not allowing them to come to the BJP.
KTR announced that the government has decided to provide free coaching material to candidates preparing for re-examinations.
He said the coaching material for all four exams will be available online for free. Study circles for SCs, STs, BCs, minorities and the poor among upper castes will be strengthened across the state. The reading rooms in all districts will remain open round-the-clock to enable students to prepare for exams. They will be provided free study material and food.