The cancellation of the preliminary examination for Group 1 services of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) after an alleged question paper leak has been quite “stressful” and “mentally draining” for the aspirants.

Conducted on October 16 last year, the examination was cancelled due to an alleged leak in the assistant engineer’s recruitment examination. On the basis of a report submitted by a special investigation team, three recruitment exams were cancelled – Group 1 services preliminary test, assistant executive engineers exam and divisional accounts officer (works) grade II exam.

This has been a matter of distress for those who cleared the preliminary examination. Many took to social media to express their disappointment. They said their hard work had been for nothing and they felt disillusioned.

“It’s very stressful and mentally draining,” said Sudheera Katta, who resigned from her job at Wipro to prepare for the Group I examination, adding that she will have to start from scratch.

“When I cleared Group I prelims, I was really happy and it gave me a confidence boost. I felt like I had something and if I worked hard for five months, I would be able to clear the mains and get a job. I was working really hard till yesterday (Friday) till I got to know about the exam being cancelled. Nothing came to mind after that, and I have to start from the beginning. What is my fault here? Why am I suffering?” she questioned.

But for some the cancellation is a blessing in disguise. “I feel it’s a blessing for me because although I prepared enough, I found the questions extremely lengthy. Even though I knew the answers, I couldn’t attempt due to lack of time. Now, the prelims feel like a mock exam and I got another chance to write it without wasting the year,” Lakshmi Tejaswitha Donepudi, a classical dancer, told News18.

But another aspirant, an 2021 engineering graduate preparing for the examination for the past two years, said this was not the first time this had happened in the state.

“I don’t have any professional experience. I am really disappointed by the actions of our state government. Due to their negligence, we are facing the consequences. This is not the first time such a thing has happened in our state,” the aspirant said, requesting anonymity.

The aspirant claimed that a recently conducted SCCL exam notification was also cancelled after the results, as the vacancies were “bought by some people”.

“We fought for almost 69 years for a separate state, since the early 1950s, because we were discriminated against in every field. But after getting separate statehood in 2014, genuine aspirants and unemployed youth are still being deceived by the state government because of incompetency,” the aspirant added.

The Group I preliminary test will be conducted again on June 11. Police arrested nine persons for their alleged involvement in the paper leak. One TSPSC staffer allegedly stole confidential data and sold it outside.

Political slugfest

The TSPSC paper leak has given ammunition to the opposition in Telangana to go hammer and tongs against the ruling BRS party. Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar started a day’s hunger strike at the state party headquarters on Friday, demanding that the state government order a judicial inquiry through a high court judge.

He also demanded that the state information technology minister KT Rama Rao should be sacked from the cabinet, as his IT department had failed to prevent a question paper leak. He has also demanded a complete overhaul of the TSPSC and compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to unemployed youth who had suffered due to cancellation of the examination. He and Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender and other BJP leaders were later arrested when they tried laying siege to the TSPSC office at Nampally. They were released in the evening.

Former IPS officer and Telangana BSP president Dr RS Praveen Kumar also began a fast-unto-death programme at the party office on Friday. He also met governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan and requested her to facilitate a CBI probe into the case.

The Congress, too, took to the streets in protest and several were arrested when they marched from Gandhi Bhavan to the TSPSC office. Party chief A Revanth Reddy demanded a probe by a sitting judge.

Replying to these allegations, KTR said the BJP had no moral right to raise questions about the leak as there had been similar incidents in BJP-ruled states. “The paper leak is not an institutional failure, but individual failure. We will correct our mistakes and ensure they are not repeated,” he said, after attending a meeting chaired by chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao with ministers and top officials.

The BRS working president further said the accused will not be spared and the state government will take stringent action against those involved in the scandal.

“We will bring reforms to conduct the TSPSC examinations in a transparent and in a foolproof manner. Four examinations were cancelled. The students appearing for the examination don’t have to pay the fee. Candidates who have applied for the exams also don’t have to pay. We will conduct the exams as early as possible after bringing reforms. The candidates who applied earlier are also eligible to appear for the exams. We will make coaching material available online free of cost. We have decided to strengthen the study circles across the state and to open reading rooms round the clock. The district collectors concerned will monitor all of this. We will extend our cooperation to students in a full-fledged manner,” he said.

(With inputs from Ramana Kumar PV)

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