BJP task force raises doubts over TSPSC answer sheet evaluation

Hyderabad: The Telangana BJP on Tuesday stated that nothing less than a judicial investigation and the simultaneous dismissal of IT minister K.T. Rama Rao will ensure a free and impartial investigation into the TSPSC question paper leak case.

Members of the BJP's task force on TSPSC paper leak told reporters that extensive interactions with many who have already appeared for the cancelled TSPSC exams as well as those preparing for them have revealed that the overwhelming opinion is that the truth about what happened in TSPSC will not be revealed unless a probe by a sitting judge is ordered into the case.

Rama Rao must be sacked from the Cabinet as the minister in charge of the IT department, which oversees the Telangana State Technological Services, which handles all IT services at TSPSC.

The BJP task force also indicated the possibility of large-scale wrongdoing in the evaluation of answer sheets conducted so far, as doubts have been raised regarding how that process was carried out. Marri Shashidhar Reddy, a task force member and former minister, has stated that the BJP's manifesto for the state Assembly elections will include a promise of complete overhaul of the TSPSC’s working.

He said that A. Rajasehkar, the prime accused, is a network administrator at TSTS, a company owned by the state government and is outsourced to the TSPSC. Further, Patimeedi Jaganmohan Rao, TSTS Chairman since 2021, is a self-proclaimed “great admirer of KTR anna,” and all these raise questions about the ultimate responsibility lying with Rama Rao. “This is why we demand his resignation,” Shashidhar Reddy said.

The BJP, has opened a WhatsApp helpline for TSPSC victims who can reach out to the task force at 8688821794, party spokesperson Ch. Vittal said.

Former IAS officer Chandravadan said the TSPSC chairman completely failed in his duties and even his selection for the position was done without any safeguards. We also have doubts about evaluation of past TSPSC exams’ answer papers, he said.

Karuna V. Gopal, task force member and convener of the party’s Mahila Morcha Policy Research group, chided the government saying TSPSC “instead of being a beacon of hope for youth, has become a source of pain, anguish and mistrust”. She said it was only after a PIL was filed in the High Court that the government rushed to recruit a Chairman and Members for the Commission, and the quality of members is not as per the rules of Public Service Commissions (PSC) guidelines.