Chandigarh, November 6
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, accompanied by affected PCS candidates, on Friday alleged large-scale irregularities, favouritism, discrepancies in answer sheet evaluation and discrimination against the Punjabi mother tongue in the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) recruitment process. He demanded an impartial and time-bound CBI investigation.
Majithia said thousands of young people in Punjab spend years preparing for competitive examinations, while their parents invest their hard-earned money in their education. He said the controversy was not merely about one recruitment exercise but concerned the future of Punjab’s youth and the credibility of the government recruitment system.
Referring to the PCS Mains results announced on November 4, Majithia said only 751 candidates had been shortlisted for interviews against 331 posts. Candidates questioned why 993 candidates were not shortlisted if the rules required three times the number of vacancies to be called for interviews. He demanded that PPSC disclose the applicable rules, category-wise qualifying marks and selection criteria.
Candidates alleged that the roll numbers of 86 successful candidates appeared consecutively in 26 different groups. They also claimed that 10 or 11 candidates out of 24 had qualified from certain examination rooms. Allegations were also raised that roll numbers of absent candidates appeared in the list of successful candidates.
Majithia demanded independent scrutiny of attendance registers, biometric records, seating plans, CCTV footage and examination results to establish the facts. Candidate Jasvir Singh presented figures relating to different roll number groups. He claimed that only 39 candidates qualified from a group of 500 roll numbers ranging from 10,000 to 10,499, while another group allegedly recorded 400 successful candidates out of 500. He also presented figures of 111 successful candidates in the sixth group and 119 in the final group.
Majithia said these figures must be verified against official records to explain the alleged variations in success rates across examination centres and roll number groups. He clarified that numerical variations alone could not establish malpractice, but PPSC was responsible for answering the candidates’ questions with documentary evidence.
During the press conference, a candidate became emotional while describing his experience. He said he had been preparing for competitive examinations for five years and regularly guided other students, but had failed to secure even the minimum qualifying marks in the PCS examination.
Questioning the evaluation process, he said that if the same evaluator checked answers to a particular question for all candidates, uniform standards could be maintained. However, assigning answer sheets to different evaluators without consistency in marking could deny candidates justice for their hard work.
Candidates alleged that some evaluators awarded exceptionally low marks while others gave comparatively higher marks. They also questioned alleged changes in evaluators and their academic qualifications.
Majithia demanded that PPSC disclose the criteria for appointing examiners, their subject expertise and whether they possessed the required UGC NET or other prescribed qualifications. He also sought clarification on whether uniform marking standards had been followed.
He further highlighted complaints involving two Punjabi girls who had secured high ranks in competitive examinations conducted in Haryana but allegedly failed to obtain even the minimum qualifying marks in Punjab’s PCS examination. Similar complaints had emerged from some candidates who had reached the interview stage of the UPSC examination.
Majithia said that although different examinations could have different standards, such complaints warranted investigation. Candidates who had demonstrated their capabilities in state and national-level examinations deserved transparency regarding their PCS marks and evaluation.
Raising the issue of Punjabi as the mother tongue, Majithia said the government must ensure strict compliance with the prescribed Punjabi language requirements for government recruitment in Punjab.
“Punjab belongs to Punjabis and Punjabi is our mother tongue. The rights of Punjab’s hardworking sons and daughters must be protected. The government must clarify whether candidates from other states fulfilled the Punjabi language requirements and all other mandatory conditions. Our objection is not to any deserving candidate but to irregularities and discrimination,” he said.
Majithia alleged that candidates who did not know Punjabi or had not passed the Punjabi language paper were granted exemptions on the spot. He claimed that this gave candidates from outside Punjab an unfair advantage and was at the root of the alleged scam. He also claimed that shortcomings in evaluation had affected candidates from the General, SC and BC categories.
Referring to Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema’s claims of transparency, Majithia said the government should answer the candidates’ concerns with documentary evidence instead of accusing the Opposition of politicising the issue. If the government had confidence in the recruitment process, he said, it should have no objection to an independent investigation.
He referred to previous recruitment-related vigilance investigations, the Bluetooth controversy involving Baba Farid University and other cases that had reached the courts. He demanded that the government disclose their present status and investigation reports. Majithia also referred to alleged chats involving Rajbir Ghuman and allegations of recommendations in the recruitment of Assistant Town Planners. He demanded verification of these claims, adding that anyone found influencing recruitment through illegal interference, money or recommendations must face action under the law.
Approach to Punjab and Haryana High Court
Majithia announced that a joint group of affected candidates would be formed to collect documents, result statistics and other evidence. Legal experts would be consulted before filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) or another appropriate petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He said the proposed legal action would seek a CBI investigation into the PCS recruitment process, preservation of answer sheets, CCTV footage and all recruitment records, an independent investigation into the evaluation process and alleged irregularities besides an interim stay on interviews until the investigation is completed.
Majithia said the Shiromani Akali Dal would also raise the issue before the Punjab Governor. Party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and other MPs would be urged to take up the matter in Parliament. Calling upon Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh, BJP leader Sunil Jakhar and other political parties, Majithia urged them to rise above partisan politics and unite on the issue.
“This is not a fight of any one political party. It is a question concerning Punjab’s future. The most deserving daughter or son must be selected on the basis of merit and hard work. No young person’s rightful opportunity should be taken away through money, recommendations or unfair means. Punjab’s youth deserve the assurance that their hard work will be judged through fair and impartial standards,” he said.
Majithia reiterated that the youth of Punjab deserved a fair recruitment process, transparent evaluation and time-bound resolution of their grievances. He said the Shiromani Akali Dal would raise the concerns of affected candidates at every constitutional and legal forum and continue its fight for justice.
