"People who are not eligible are getting jobs. Meanwhile, we will remain as labourers," Neetu Rajput, a resident of Bakani village in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, told The Quint on Thursday, 13 July.
Neetu was referring to the alleged irregularities in the results of the Patwari exams conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board (MPESB), which has triggered widespread protests in the state. A Patwari is someone who serves in the position of a village registrar or accountant.
"I appeared for the Patwari exams on 21 March. I secured 157 points (out of 200), as it showed on the computer screen. But my final result was 86.1 after normalisation. Where did all my points go?"Neetu Rajput
The eldest daughter of a farmer, Neetu has been preparing for the patwari exams for the past four years.
But Neetu is not alone. She is among thousands of students who have raised allegations of irregularities in the final results of the grade 2, sub-grade 4, and Patwari vacancies.
They staged a protest in front of the Indore collectorate on Thursday, demanding the nullification of the results and an investigation into the matter.
What Happened?
The state body responsible for the recruitment process received a staggering 12.34 lakh applications for nearly 6,000 vacancies.
As many as 9.74 lakh candidates appeared for the exams, which was conducted online between 15 March and 26 April 2023. The MPESB had used the services of Eduquity Career Techno Pvt Ltd, a Bengaluru-based company, to conduct the exams.
After the results were announced on 30 June, students took to the social media with claims that they got less marks post normalisation.
As the students began voicing their displeasure with the final exam results, Congress leader and former Union Minister Arun Yadav demanded a high-level probe into the alleged discrepancies.
What Did the Congress Say?
In a press conference on Wednesday, 12 July, Arun Yadav alleged that seven out of 10 toppers shared a common examination centre, namely NRI College in Gwalior, which is reportedly owned by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sanjeev Kushwaha.
The leader also alleged that the toppers who signed in Hindi had secured full marks (25/25) in English.
"Seven out of 10 toppers are from the Gwalior-Chambal region, similar to the agriculture officers recruitment exam scam in 2021, in which all the toppers not only belonged to the same region but their caste, their college, and academic performance were also the same. They even made similar mistakes in the examination, which was cancelled after the probe."Arun Yadav
Yadav also accused the ruling BJP of destroying the future of lakhs of students and favouring some students over the others for monetary gains. He stated that if the Congress is voted to power, it would draft a strict legislation to ensure that such 'scams' in recruitment drives don't happen again.
Students Demand Fair Probe
One of the students staging a protest outside Indore collectorate, Shubhangi Patil, demanded a fair investigation into the matter and asked the students who topped the exams to "come out and face the media."
"Seven out of the 10 toppers are from the same college and students who couldn't sign in English have scored full marks in the subject. Correct questions were omitted by the board. If those who topped actually deserved it, where are they, why aren't they coming out? We want a fair investigation into the case because this is a matter of our future."Shubhangi Patil
The MPESB, formerly known as Vyapam, has a controversial history.
It had conducted 106 examinations between 2015 and 2022, and out of these, irregularities were found in 24 exams, leading to over 1,000 FIRs against officials and individuals.
The MPESB has collected over Rs 607 crore in application fees since 2014-15.
Vyapam was accused of rigging entrance examinations of medical colleges in 2013-14, and the scam exposed widespread corruption, with candidates paying bribes for favourable results. It also implicated senior BJP leaders.
However, denying the recent allegations, BJP leader and Home Minister Narottam Mishra said:
"The results were declared in May and June. But no one complained. When Assembly sessions are underway, the Congress is creating a ruckus. Those who are tweeting are also associated with the Congress."
Ruling out any possibility of irregularities in the recruitment exams, Mishra said, "A total 114 participants have cleared Patwari exams at that particular center (Gwalior college), then why question is being raised about only seven toppers?"
Responding to his statement, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath said, "Vyapam, nursing, constable recruitment, agriculture officer, and other scams have become a signature of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh government. Demanding probes is also a joke for this government as they end up saving the kingpin. I demand an investigation from an independent agency."
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