Chandigarh, July 29
Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa, today expressed serious concern over the recurring controversies surrounding recruitment and competitive examinations in Punjab, saying the repeated irregularities have severely undermined the confidence of the state’s youth in the fairness of the recruitment process. He asserted that the future of lakhs of deserving aspirants cannot be compromised because of administrative failures or the government’s refusal to accept accountability.
Bajwa said the Aam Aadmi Party government has repeatedly claimed that not a single examination paper has been leaked during its tenure. However, the past four and a half years have witnessed one controversy after another involving recruitment examinations and the integrity of the examination system. Allegations and irregularities relating to the Naib Tehsildar recruitment examination, the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET), the cancellation of the Class XII English Board English examination following the confirmation of a paper leak, the Group-B recruitment controversy, and now the Pharmacy Officer recruitment examination have collectively raised serious questions about the credibility of the government’s claims.
“The government may refuse to describe the Pharmacy Officer recruitment examination as a paper leak, but changing the terminology does not change the reality. If the sanctity of an examination has been compromised, if organised cheating has allegedly taken place, and if the credibility of an entire recruitment process has come under a cloud, then who will accept responsibility? Can injustice done to thousands of young aspirants simply disappear because the government chooses to call it something else?” Bajwa asked.
Bajwa further questioned why different standards appear to be applied to similar incidents across the country. “Whenever examination paper leaks occur elsewhere, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party are quick to demand resignations and accountability. Why should Punjab be an exception? Accountability cannot have one yardstick for other states and another for Punjab,” he said.
Expressing concern over reports that students protesting peacefully had allegedly faced police action, Bajwa said it was deeply disturbing that young people demanding a fair recruitment process were allegedly met with force instead of dialogue. “A democratic government must listen to its youth, not attempt to suppress their voices. Students seeking justice should never be treated as law-and-order problems,” he said.
Bajwa also questioned the silence of the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issue. “The BJP never hesitates to raise examination controversies in other parts of the country. Why has it chosen silence when the future of Punjab’s youth is at stake? Do the dreams and aspirations of Punjab’s young people deserve any less concern?” he asked.
Seeking complete transparency, Bajwa demanded that the Punjab Government place the entire record before the people. He asked how many recruitment examination controversies had surfaced during the last four and a half years, how many inquiries had been conducted, how many individuals had been identified for wrongdoing, and how many had actually been punished. He said public confidence cannot be restored through repeated claims or political statements; it can only be rebuilt through transparency, impartial investigations and visible accountability.
Bajwa noted that the sequence of controversies itself tells a disturbing story. In 2022, allegations of cheating and irregularities surfaced in the Naib Tehsildar recruitment examination. In 2023, the Class XII English Board examination had to be cancelled and reconducted after a question paper leak was confirmed. The same year, irregularities in the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test led to a re-examination. During 2025 and 2026, allegations relating to irregularities in a Group-B recruitment examination were referred for a Vigilance inquiry. Most recently, in 2026, an electronic cheating racket was uncovered in the Pharmacy Officer recruitment examination. While the opposition has described the incident as a paper leak, the Punjab Government has maintained that the question paper was not leaked in advance and that the case involved real-time electronic cheating.
“The issue is much larger than the terminology being used. Whether it is a paper leak, a breach of examination security, organised electronic cheating or any other serious irregularity, the outcome is the same—the faith of honest candidates is shattered. Every young person in Punjab deserves a recruitment system that is transparent, secure and based solely on merit. The future of our youth is too precious to become a casualty of administrative failures and political defensiveness. Punjab’s youth deserve the truth, they deserve accountability, and above all, they deserve justice,” Bajwa said.