The SSC CGL aspirants have been protesting outside the Commission office
Dr Shashi Tharoor, Congress leader and Member of Parliament, came out in support of the candidates who are protesting against
an alleged paper leak in ongoing SSC CGL 2017 recruitment process. Dr Tharoor also wrote to Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India with reference to the recently concluded Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Tier II Examination, conducted by the Staff Selection Commission of India (SSC).
"With lakhs of protesters clamouring for justice it is clear that SSC CLG Mains 2018 must be scrapped & rescheduled. A CBI inquiry into the leak is imperative. Our nation cannot afford to shake the faith of our students in the competitive examination system," Dr Tharoor tweeted.
It has been widely reported that during this year's edition of the annual selection process, on February 17, the first day of the CGL Tier II exam, the SSC had to cancel the second shift of the paper at one venue causing distress to the candidates who had prepared to appear for the examination on the day.
"The examination was subsequently conducted as per schedule for the remainder of the five days, despite further allegations surfacing of questions from those papers being leaked prior to the allotted date and time," writes Dr Tharoor.
"This would have, in effect, put a majority of prospective candidates at a serious disadvantage and was naturally a cause of considerable distress to all those who were scheduled to give the examination," he added.
"While it appears that the Chairman of the SSC has met a 3-member delegation, representing the hundreds of candidates who are currently protesting, and has issued a directive to conduct a re-examination, the candidates have pointed out that this new examination will only cover 1 shift, namely the one that took place on the 21 of February, whereas the reality is that the circumstances surrounding the other shifts are equally contestable and deserves to be included under the scope of this re-examination directive as well," he writes.
According to Dr Tharoor, the fact of the matter remains that the number one request of the candidates is, in fact, a detailed probe into the circumstances surrounding the examination.
"However, it appears that the SSC is only willing to form an SIT probe, a cause of further anguish for these students, since it is likely that the members of this probe will be current employees of the SSC themselves, thereby opening the door for a potentially biased investigation," he wrote.
He also wrote that the principal request of the aspirants - the enquiry by an independent and competent investigative agency, namely the Central Bureau of Investigation, into the questionable manner in which the examination was conducted, is not only fair but the utmost need of the hour.
"Given the unfortunate circumstances surrounding their plight and the urgency of the situation at hand, I would be grateful if you could look into this matter at the earliest and give this request your most earnest and sympathetic consideration," his letter said.
The aspirants who appeared for the CGLE Tier II exam in February, have been protesting outside the Commission office demanding CBI enquiry over the alleged paper leak.
SSC CGL exam is conducted for Group B and C grade officer posts wherein, approximately 30 lakh students compete for the 8000-12000 seats that are available.
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