Hyderabad: Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Wednesday accepted the resignation of the Telangana State Public Service Commission’s chairman and three members, paving the way towards its reconstitution after the fallout from question paper leaks and alleged irregularities during the BRS government’s regime.
Chairman B. Janardhan Reddy and members, R. Satyanarayana, Prof. Bandi Linga Reddy, and Karam Ravinder, had tendered their resignations after the Congress formed the government in the state.
However, five more members are yet to tender their resignations, which is mandatory for the government to constitute a new board. Only after this would the government be able to recommence recruitments and issue job notifications.
All nine members and chairpersons of the TSPSC were appointed by the BRS government.
In the run-up to the Assembly elections last year, the dissolution of the TSPSC board and constitution of a new board was a major poll plank of the Congress, which charged the commission with “failing miserably” in conducting the recruitments in an effective, transparent and smooth manner, leading to question paper leaks and cancellation of exams.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has announced to fill 2 lakh job vacancies by December 2024 after constituting a new TSPSC board and also met UPSC chairman Manoj Soni in Delhi last week to seek his suggestions to reform the TSPSC.
A media statement issued by the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday clarified that there was no delay on the part of the Governor in accepting the resignations. It claimed that the entire process of acceptance of resignations was completed in one day with utmost diligence and in adherence to legal procedures.
“Contrary to any speculation or misinformation, there has been no delay on the part of the Governor in accepting the resignations submitted by the chairman and three other members of TSPSC,” it said.
“Upon receiving the resignations, as per Business Rules, the Governor forwarded them to the state government for circulation of the file, along with the remarks and the opinion of the Advocate General, through the Chief Minister after ensuring a thorough examination of the matter. It is imperative to note that the ongoing investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) played a crucial role in the decision-making process. In light of this, the state government reviewed the resignations and obtained the opinion of the Advocate General and circulated the file to the Governor through the Chief Minister for acceptance of all four resignations on 9th January,” said the statement.
The Governor accepted all four resignations without prejudice to the ongoing investigations and any potential future criminal proceedings on January 10.
“The Raj Bhavan assures all people of the state in general and the unemployed youth in particular that every precaution has been taken to safeguard the interests of the unemployed youth in this process. The Governor remains committed to upholding the mandates of the
Constitution, principles of justice, transparency, and accountability, and this decision reflects the responsible handling of a matter that involves ongoing investigations,” it said.
