Stalin demands CBI probe into TNPSC recruitment scam

DMK chief MK Stalin on Wednesday demanded a CBI probe into the recruitment malpractices in Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) relating to Group 4 posts. Recently, the state government agency became embroiled in a controversy when it emerged that as many as 35 candidates in the top 100 rankers in the list are from two specific locations in Tamil Nadu - Rameswaram and Keelakarai. 

In a statement issued in Chennai, Stalin said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should probe the TNPSC recruitment scam. He also said in order to restore the unemployed youths' confidence in TNPSC, the probe should be monitored by a High Court judge.

According to Stalin, the government has said that during 2018-19, a total of 17,648 persons have been recruited through TNPSC exams in various cadres including Group IV, while the total recruitment during the AIADMK rule from 2017-2019 was 22,250 persons.

Stalin said suspicion arises as to the kind of transparency that was followed in the recruitments made between 2017 and 2019 given the recruitment scam that has come to light now.

Stalin, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, also demanded the dismissal of D Jayakumar, Minister for Fisheries and Personnel and Administrative Reforms.

According to TNPSC, the recruitment exam for 9,398 vacancies under Group IV category was held on September 1, 2019. A total of 16,29,865 aspirants appeared in the exam.

The TNPSC said a complaint was lodged as the first 100 ranks were secured by those who wrote the exam in Rameswaram and Keezhakarai centres in Ramanathapuram district.

A probe revealed that 99 persons, on the advice of middlemen, had opted for exam centres in Rameswaram and Keezhakarai and had first marked their answers with an ink that would vanish after sometime. Later, with the help of those involved in the conduct of exams and the middlemen, correct answers were marked in the answer sheets.

Announcing a probe, the TNPSC said that it would first verify all the answer sheets of the 497 candidates who have been called for the certificate verification process after qualifying for the Group 4 exams of the Commission. 

(With IANS input)