BJP demands CBI probe into Rajasthan paper leaks stages walkout from assembly

Jaipur, Jul 19 (PTI) The opposition BJP on Wednesday demanded a CBI inquiry into Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) paper leaks and later staged a walkout from the state assembly as a mark of protest.
    During the Zero Hour, Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said the youth are disheartened due to the exam paper leaks.
    "A member of the RPSC was arrested, another member's name has come up in a complaint in connection with which a former Congress minister has been arrested recently," he said.
    Rathore demanded that all competitive exams conducted by the RPSC be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
    The Rajasthan Police's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested former chairperson of State Ghumantu Jati Kalyan Board Gopal Kesawat and three others on July 15 for accepting a bribe of Rs 18.50 lakh to help a candidate clear the executive officer recruitment exam conducted by the RPSC.
    Kesawat is a former Congress leader. He was expelled from the party in November 2018 for contesting the assembly elections as a rebel candidate.
    Opposition members entered the well of the House before staging a walkout to protest the paper leaks.
    Prior to Rathore, other BJP MLAs including Vasudev Devnani and Ashok Lahoti also spoke on the issue.
    Devnani said, "Rajasthan is drowning in corruption and now constitutional institutes like the RPSC too are getting involved in it. Over 70 lakh youth of Rajasthan are troubled and seeking justice."
    During the Congress government's tenure, around 18 exams have been conducted by the RPSC and papers for many of them have been leaked, he claimed.
    "I demand that the RPSC be dissolved and new members appointed on the lines of UPSC (Union Public Service Commission)," he said.
    Rajasthan has witnessed a few instances wherein it was alleged that exam question papers for recruitment were leaked to aspirants, including in 2021 during the hiring of teachers by the state education board and last year in a test conducted by the RPSC.
    The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police, which is investigating the paper leaks, had arrested former RPSC member Babulal Katara, his nephew and driver in April in connection with the senior teacher paper leak case of 2022.
    The exam was cancelled after the paper was widely shared on social media before the commencement of the exam.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)