Nishu Mahajan n Chandigarh
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday assured the State Assembly that the accused in the police constable recruitment paper leak case will not be spared.
“If the person sitting in Haryana Staff Selection Commission or in the government is responsible then he too will not be spared. The State Police has unfolded the links connected with this case and would continue the investigation,” the Chief Minister said while responding to a calling attention motion over the cancellation of exam of police constable conducted by HSSC on August 7 due to leak of question paper and answer key.
Khattar also rejected the Congress’ demand for an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the case following which the opposition party staged a walkout from the House.
The Chief Minister, however, maintained that if the State police fails to nab the culprits or get to the root of the matter, then the investigation can be done by a higher authority. A law has been brought by the State Government which will act as a deterrent to stop incidents of exam leak in Haryana, he said.
During the concluding day of the monsoon session of Haryana Assembly, the Congress lambasted the BJP-JJP Government on the issue of police constable examination leak. Right through the beginning of the debate during calling attention motion, war of words, allegations and counter-allegations raged between the treasury benches and the opposition in the House over the issue.
Earlier, former Chief Minister and Leader of opposition, Bhupinder Singh Hooda while demanding CBI inquiry into the paper leak incident pointed out that the Home Minister Anil Vij has also raised the same demand. Congress legislators Kiran Chaudhary, BB Batra, Jagbir Singh Malik, Geeta Bhukkal among others also pushed for a CBI inquiry and dismissal of HSSC till the investigation is completed.
Initiating the debate, independent MLA Balraj Kundu alleged that the exam cannot be leaked without the involvement of people in HSSC and the role of Commission should be looked into.
For the posts of 5500 male constables, the Commission had received 8.25 lakh applications. About 6.83 lakh candidates had downloaded admit cards for the written exam; however the exam was cancelled on August 7 after it came to the notice of the Commission that the paper had been leaked.
Responding to the allegations of opposition that over a dozen of exams have been cancelled due to various reasons during the current regime, the Education Minister Kanwar Pal informed the House that since 2015, the HSSC has successfully selected 78701 candidates fairly to various posts of Group C & D and it is only in five instances that the examinations had to be cancelled.
He further elaborated that since 2011 during the previous Congress regime, 30 criminal cases pertaining to written examinations had been instituted. Of these 30 cases, four were cancelled, accused were acquitted in two cases, investigation is going on in ten cases and 14 cases are still pending adjudication in the Courts, he said.
The Chief Minister informed the State Assembly that a total of seven criminal cases were registered in respect of leak of question paper including two cases lodged in Kaithal, one case each in Fatehabad and Hisar and three cases in Karnal. The Police has arrested around 35 persons in this regard and a person from Jammu has also been arrested. The State Police has unfolded the links connected with this case like the place of paper printing and from where the paper was leaked. There is a big syndicate working for paper leak and the matter is being thoroughly investigated by Haryana Police, he said.
This exam was sold at an amount of rupees one crore in Haryana, he further said.
In a scathing attack on Congress, Khattar said that the recruitments done by the previous regime were cancelled by the Court. These recruitments were done by setting aside the rules and regulations. On the other hand, our government has cancelled four recruitments after finding errors so that no question is raised later, he said.
Continuing his tirade against the Congress, the Chief Minister further said that after the formation of the present State Government in 2014 and at the time of restructuring of HSSC, the old records were checked and it was found that only those records which are in the possession of the court are safe. The rest of the data was not found anywhere. The previous records of HSSC were either burnt or thrown in rivers, he added.
At this point, verbal duels were exchanged between the Chief Minister and his predecessor Hooda. The former Chief Minister said that the government should take the issue of paper leak seriously as the future of the youth is being ruined due to such incidents.
Khattar informed the House that the Commission will ensure that the candidates of cancelled examinations do not suffer and they are allowed to participate in the re-advertised examination process without charging the fees.
Rejecting Congress’ demand for a CBI investigation, the Chief Minister said that the government is satisfied with the ongoing inquiry by Haryana Police. If an inquiry is marked to the CBI into the matter, they will close down the HSSC for the investigation which will impact the recruitment process.
“I have already talked to the Home Minister Anil Vij on the issue. If the investigation by state police fails to reach any conclusion or they fail to nab the culprits, the government will constitute a high-level committee under a sitting or retired Judge,” Khattar assured the House.
In protest of the decision, the Congress legislators then staged a symbolic walkout from the House.
CULPRITS TO GET 10-YR IMPRISONMENT AND RS 10 LAKH FINE FOR LEAKING EXAM PAPERS
To prevent leaks of question papers and the use of unfair means in public examinations, the Haryana Assembly on Tuesday passed Haryana Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means), Bill, 2021.
A person found to be indulged in an organised crime in conspiracy with the examination authority or otherwise indulges or attempts to indulge in unfair means in Haryana will now be liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years and may extend up to 10 years and with a fine which shall not be less than Rs 10 lakh.
In case of the involvement of the government staff in the leakage of papers, they would be liable for imprisonment up to seven years and a fine ranging from Rs 1-3 lakh. Similarly, the persons obstructing or threatening the members of the inspection team, supervisory staff, examination authority will face a jail term of up to two years and fine of Rs 5,000.
If any examinee contravenes or attempts to contravene any provision of the Act, he shall be punished with imprisonment up to two years and fine of up to Rs 5,000, according to the Bill.
Earlier, the Chief Minister said that it is a good thing that the Haryana Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2021 has been welcomed by all legislators.
While allaying the apprehensions of the opposition on the loopholes in the legislation, he said that if required, amendments will be brought in the next session of Haryana Assembly. The Bill brought in the House will apply to those who encourage cheating during examinations and act as a deterrent to stop such incidents, he said.
On concerns raised by LoP Bhupinder Singh Hooda over inclusion of Universities in the Bill, Khattar said that this law will not affect the autonomy of the university.
He said that this law would work to check cheating during the examination for any recruitment in the university. Those guilty of encouraging the use of unfair means at any stage from the time of setting the paper to the examination will be under the purview of this law, he added.