The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday accused the Opposition of politicising the appointment of 69,000 assistant teachers so as to hold up the process.
Minister of State for Basic Education Satish Dwivedi said allegations were being made at the cost of the “future of the candidates”. “Some people are running a political campaign,” he told journalists.
His statement came a day after the Allahabad High Court reserved its order on a government petition against the stay that the court ordered on the process to recruit 69,000 teachers. The court stayed the process after several candidates who had fallen short by one or two marks challenged the results, citing anomalies and discrepancies in the questions and answers.
“We will act as per the orders of the court,” said Mr. Dwivedi.
The recruitment process has come under more criticism after the Prayagraj police arrested 11 persons, including a medical officer, for allegedly taking money to help candidates clear the test.
The accused persons would prepare the answer sheet for the question paper and give it to the candidates in exchange for a hefty sum. They had allegedly got the question paper leaked through Bluetooth, or in collusion with the in-charge of the examination centre, the police said.
Since the candidates at the centre belonged to different districts, the investigation was handed over to the Special Task Force, Mr. Dwivedi said.
BSP leader Mayawati demanded a CBI probe, alleging that there were signs of corruption.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra interacted with some affected students and demanded that the government take “tough action”. In a Facebook live on Tuesday, she said it was not a political issue for her party. “It is the question of a generation’s future,” she said, vowing to fight for the candidates and appealing to the government to find a “positive solution”.
