Page 42 - June2018

HSSC under fire for repeated lapses,

govt forced to suspend chairman

The Khattar government has been forced to suspend the HSSC chairman after a string of
wrongdoings emerge under his tenure. The government succumbs to public pressure after a fresh
bloomer by the commission in a question paper surfaces, writes rajendra khatry

he Haryana Staff Selec- by the commission. As the BJP gov- in the written exam conducted by
tion Commission (HSSC) ernment came under fire from the HSSC to recruit junior engineers.
scam, better known as opposition, Haryana Chief Minister One of the multiple choice objec-
‘Cash for jobs’ scandal was forced to suspend the Chair- tive questions in the paper asked
T has rocked Haryana for man, using powers under the more the students, ‘Which among the fol-
the last two months. As soon as the than a century old Punjab General lowing is not a bad sign of omen in
scam broke out in April, the op- Clause Act, 1898 as the state govern- Haryana? — Empty pitcher, meeting
position cried foul and sought im- ment does not have the powers to with a black Brahmin and sight of a
mediate suspension of the HSSC suspend the HSSC Chairman under Brahmin girl’.
Chairman, Bharat Bhushan Bharti. the HSSC Act. The choices for selection to the
Surprisingly, at that time the state Now, the HSSC Chairman Bharat question were objectionable as well
government gave him a clean chit, Bhushan Bharti will remain sus- as offending and the Brahmin com-
notwithstanding the fact that the pended till the enquiry in the mat- munity considered it a grave insult.
scam was a blot on the otherwise ter is complete. Meanwhile, the Up in arms, the upset Brahmin
unblemished governance record of Haryana government has appoint- community in Haryana demanded
the Manohar Lal government. ed the 1993 batch IAS officer Deepti immediate action against HSSC of-
The HSSC Chairman would have Umashankar as the chairperson of ficials responsible for the bloomer.
probably survived the wrangle. But the Commission. Quick to fuel the fire, all the oppo-
in a new twist recently HSSC got Incidentally, the suspension or- sition parties in Haryana includ-
embroiled in another controversy der came in the aftermath of the ing the Indian National Lok Dal
over a crude and derogatory ques- great hue and cry by the Brahmin (INLD), the Congress and the Aam
tion asked about the Brahmin com- community in the state, over a de- Aadmi Party (AAP) voiced protests
munity in a written test conducted rogatory question about Brahmins and started demanding probe in to

Tehelka / 15 june 2018 42 www.Tehelka.com

42-43 Rajendra Khatry.indd 2 06/06/18 1:23 PM