AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today demanded an independent probe into the leak of the question paper for selection of Agriculture Development Officers (ADOs) in Punjab and said it was shocking that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was not taking any action to cancel the recruitment examination following widespread allegations leveled by aspirants.
In a statement issued from its party headquarters in Chandigarh today, senior party leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said “students have clearly mentioned that a senior officer of the Agriculture department has accepted a bribe of Rs 32 lakh to leak the paper. They have e-mailed chief minister Bhagwant Mann in this context and even submitted a memorandum to the chief minister’s wife – Dr Gurpreet Kaur but the government is refusing to take any action in the matter”. He demanded the paper be re-conducted and that a case be registered in the case immediately.
Dr Daljit Cheema said it was shocking that the paper, to recruit 200 ADOs after a gap of four years, had been leaked. “This has not only undermined the integrity of the examination process but has also eroded the public’s trust in the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), which conducted the paper. Earlier also a number of papers including the NEET examination which is the qualifying examination for admission into MBBS and BDS programmes and the UGC - NET examination were compromised. This is a huge blow for students and could lead to insecurity and even unrest among students. The AAP government should try to fix the issue instead of trying to bury it under the carpet. The only way to take the State forward is to reward merit and paper leaks do the direct opposite. The chief minister must order the institution of a free and fair independent probe into the paper leak and ensure exemplary punishment for all those who have tried to play with the lives of the students”.