After the Bharatiya Janata Party registered its biggest loss of the Lok Sabha tally from Uttar Pradesh since 2014, the State government’s apparatus is in full swing in rectifying what it believes led to some sections voting against the ruling party. The poll verdict from Uttar Pradesh was a major dent to the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which managed to win only 36 seats, with the BJP winning 33, while its allies Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) winning two seats and the Apna Dal (Sonelal) securing one. The BJP’s own seat share was down by 29 seats compared to 2019, when it won 62 seats from the State.
The focus of the State government seems to be on youth, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath holding meetings on Saturday with chairpersons of State recruitment commissions and announcing implementation of a new law soon to completely stop paper leaks, among other measures. In an outreach to youth, strict directions were issued to speed up the appointment process for vacant posts across departments and send immediate requisitions to commissions where posts are vacant.
“The State government is dedicated to safeguarding the interests of the youth, valuing their hard work, merit, and talent. Anarchic activities such as paper leaks or solver gangs are utterly unacceptable. It is imperative to enact strict laws to address such criminal activities promptly. Therefore, necessary measures should be taken expeditiously,” instructed Mr. Adityanath, chairing a special meeting with the chairpersons of various selection commissions, in the presence of top officials.
Directing the commissions to expedite the selection process for vacant posts, the government asked departmental secretaries to send immediate requisitions to the selection commissions about vacancies. Mr. Adityanath also asked the selection commissions to release the calendar for recruitment examinations on time and adhere rigorously to it. “It is imperative to recognise that any deviation from the calendar inconveniences the candidates. All selection commissions should coordinate mutually to ensure that only one examination is conducted per day,” he added.
Two exams cancelled
Uttar Pradesh, in the last six months, cancelled two major recruitment examinations following allegations of paper leak. The police constable recruitment exam, conducted on February 17 and 18, was cancelled following allegations of paper leak. About 60,244 posts of police constable, the lowest category of workforce under the State police force, were notified, leading to 48.17 lakh aspirants filling the form to appear in the written test, which took place at 2,385 centers across 75 districts. The examination made headlines due to massive influx of candidates amid charges of paper leak and discrepancies. Later, the Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (RO/ARO) preliminary examination conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on February 11, 2024 was also cancelled following allegations of paper leak.
To curb paper leaks, Uttar Pradesh plans to hold District Magistrates (DMs) and District School Inspectors accountable in selecting educational institutions as examination centres, with only government secondary schools, degree colleges, universities, polytechnics, engineering colleges, medical colleges, or reputable well-equipped and funded educational institutions with a clean track record to be designated as examination centers for selection examinations with these centres to be located exclusively in urban areas. “The District Magistrate and the District School Inspector should also be involved in the system. If any irregularity occurs, they will be held accountable,” said the State government.
In the high-level meeting, it was agreed that comprehensive improvement across the entire system, encompassing the processes of paper setting, printing, delivering them to the treasury, delivering them from the treasury to the examination centres, arrangements for the examination centre, delivering OMR sheets to the commission after the examination, scanning of OMRs, and result preparation, are the need of the hour.
