One is astonished on reading details about how most of the government exams conducted in Jharkhand during the last 13 years were found to be rigged. A blacklisted agency TDPL was given contract to conduct all government exams after 2014, and most of the exams were rigged. The mastermind of paper leaks, Abhay Tiwari wore two hats. He was working as a Block Supply Officer in Godda, Jharkhand, and at the same time, in the name of Vijay Tiwari, he was working as marketing manager in TDPL, the agency that conducted the exams.
In the last 13 years, he himself applied for 12 govt jobs and cracked the exams with top rankings in most of them. He cracked the Indian Navy SSR (Senior Secondary Recruit) Exam in 2013, passed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre assistant exam the next year, and in the same year, he passed another exam in Northern Coalfields Ltd. This versatile person passed the CRPF Head Constable exam and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission’s (JSSC) police sub-inspector exam in 2018.
He also passed JSSC’s post-graduate teacher exam, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), Forest Range Officer (FRO), and Food Safety Officer (FSO) exams conducted by Jharkhand Public Service Commission. He also cleared the preliminary exams for 11th and 13th Jharkhand Civil Service in his first attempt. Students in Jharkhand have been sitting on dharna for the last 12 days demanding justice. Some of them are carrying posters showing Abhay Tiwari, the mastermind of paper leaks. Abhay Tiwari not only cracked exams.
He helped his brother and ‘bhabhi’ (sister-in-law) get govt jobs by dutifully passing exams. He also helped his ‘saali’ (sister-in-law) get a govt job, not through backdoor, but after passing her exam. All of them got appointment letters for govt jobs. Abhay Tiwari has been arrested and the state CID is probing paper leak charges. Till now, 11 persons have been arrested. CID conducted raids in 18 districts including Ranchi, Palamau, Hazaribagh, Bokaro and Dhanbad. Tiwari had settings with several coaching centres. Teachers in some of the coaching centres were in direct contact with him.
Carbon copies of OMR sheets of candidates, some admit cards and mark sheets have been found by CID. Tiwari has been carrying on with this trade for the last 13 years. He minted crores, charged Rs 25 lakh for getting a candidate passed the Main exam and Rs 5 lakhs for clearing a Prelim exam. He used to collect Rs 10 lakhs as ‘advance’. Clearly, public exams in Jharkhand for the last 13 years were not due to paper leaks only.
It was clearly rigging and cheating on a humungous scale. The ‘rigging mafia’ marred the careers of lakhs of candidates on a scale that is unimaginable. Chief Minister Hemant Soren tried to calm down matters by ordering a CID probe, but the protesters are aware of the ground reality. They are not trusting the CID. CID’s record in Jharkhand has not been good till now. There is no harm in handing over this probe to CBI. The students sitting on protest are not demanding Hemant Soren’s resignation. They want an early decision about the exams that are in limbo. Interestingly, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Communist leaders, who were taking part in the Jantar Mantar protest, are not visible in Ranchi protest. Don’t the students of Jharkhand deserve their support? Or, those who raised their voices in Delhi do not want to speak against Hemant Soren?
Kanwads must exercise restraint
The month-long Kanwad Yatra during the holy month of Shrawan is in full swing in UP and Uttarakhand. Though the state governments have made full arrangements, in several places, kanwad yatris resorted to violence, smashing vehicles and thrashing people. On Tuesday, flower petals were showered on Kanwad yatris from Meerut to Haridwar. Traffic routes were diverted and corridors set up for the yatra. In Meerut, there was an incident in which kanwad yatris bashed up some policemen, but the SP City claims no policemen was beaten.
Why does violence take place every year during Kanwad Yatra? Why are lathis used to attack others? Is it part of our ‘sanskar’ (tradition)? How can there be any place for violence during the sacred Yatra while worshipping Lord Shiva? Most of the Kanwad Yatris sing bhajans while carrying sacred Ganga water. But when violence takes place in a place or two, the Yatra gets a bad name. Kanwad Yatris must exercise restraint. They should complete their yatra peacefully, with patience. This will be their true devotion to Lord Shiva.
Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comment is misogynistic, condemnable
A misogynistic comment made by the Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu, Udhayanidhi Stalin, deserves condemnation. He was addressing a rally on Cauvery water issue in Thanjavur, when some DMK workers started shouting ‘Trisha’, name of the Chief Minister Vijay’s close friend. Udhayanidhi made the sarcastic comment and those present at the rally burst into laughter.
The video went viral, police picked him up from Chennai and took him to Thanjavur. When all hell broke loose, thousands of DMK supporters clashed with police. Police told the High Court they had taken him to Thanjavur to “record his statement”. On the High Court’s direction, Udhayanidhi was released. Udhayanidhi Stalin used to work in Tamil films and Trisha used to be his colleague. Because of political differences, Udhayanidhi made the misogynistic comment about Vijay and Trisha. Udhayanidhi has been a repeated offender as far as making sarcastic comments are concerned. He cleverly delivered a ‘double entendre’ dialogue about Trisha at the rally. This is condemnable.
Any objectionable comment made about a woman in public, even indirectly, needs to be condemned. From the political point of view, Chief Minister Joseph Vijay’s action in getting his political rival arrested by police, may help Udhayanidhi in the long run. The latter will go to the streets and present himself as a person who has been wronged. The DMK, which has been licking its wounds since the assembly poll debacle, may get a new breath of life. Chief Minister Vijay will have to face challenges in the near future. On the whole, the issue neither needed any ‘comment’, nor ‘arrest’.