Former Congress MP Kirip Chaliha
Senior Congress leader and former MP Kirip Chaliha today alleged "serious corruption" in holding the state civil services examination and demanded a thorough probe by CBI into the irregularities.
"I am convinced that there is serious corruption in Assam Public Service Commission (APSC). About 2-3 years back, I had requested the Chief Minister to order a probe. I think now is the time that a thorough probe by a neutral agency like CBI must be ordered," Mr Chaliha said in a press conference in Guwahati.
He claimed that he has met many people who paid huge amount of money to get job through APSC and it has been going on for a long time.
"The CM is at the peak of his political career now. I hope it is his historical responsibility to cleanse the administration that he is heading. We have to accept that APSC is the lifeline of Assam's administration," Mr Chaliha said.
He claimed Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has accepted his proposal for a probe during their discussion.
When asked if the scam was similar in scale to that of the Vyapam scam of Madhya Pradesh, Chaliha said, "It has not reached to the Vyapam level. But we should not compare one with the other."
"If there is any corruption, the government has to investigate."
The Congress leader also supported Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi in his demand for a CBI probe and said, "We should support and accept the right thing even if it has come from the politically opposite quarter."
Akhil Gogoi, the Adviser of KMSS and Gana Mukti Sangram Samiti, had yesterday filed a Public Interest Litigation at the Gauhati High Court on behalf of the two organisations seeking a CBI probe in alleged irregularities of state civil services examinations.
The Gauhati High Court is yet to accept and register the PIL.
The PIL sought a CBI probe, mainly on the much talked about irregularities of the 2013 examinations and the role of APSC's present Chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul.