Patna, Jan 29 (IANS): Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan has strongly criticised the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) over alleged irregularities in a recently concluded 70th PT examination.

While interacting with the media persons in Patna, Paswan accused BPSC officials of ignoring the grievances of candidates and highlighted inconsistencies in how the commission handled the issue of leaked question papers.

“The BPSC officials themselves admitted that the question papers went viral on social media during the exam at the Bapu examination centre in Patna, leading to its cancellation and re-examination. I want to ask BPSC why the entire exam was not cancelled if such irregularities occurred. All students deserve a fair and equal opportunity,” Paswan said.

He further criticised BPSC for not following standard operating procedures while conducting the exam and cited complaints from candidates, including his own family members, who faced issues like unavailability of question papers and delays in their distribution.

The 70th PT BPSC exam was held on December 13, 2024, at 912 centres in Bihar. Reports of massive irregularities surfaced, particularly at the Bapu centre in Patna’s Kumhrar locality, leading to a massive agitation.

The BPSC cancelled the examination for the Bapu centre and conducted a re-examination on January 4.

Following the irregularities, a total of 14 petitioners sought the cancellation of the examination, conducted on December 13 and January 4, citing several discrepancies, including question paper leaks, inadequate preparation by BPSC, and changes in examination centres just before the test.

They have filed separate cases in Patna High Court. However, the single bench of Justice Arvind Singh Chandel refused to cancel the examination or stay its results during the hearing on January 16.

Justice Chandel passed an interim order rejecting all immediate reliefs sought by the petitioners. The court had directed the Bihar government and BPSC, the respondents in the case, to submit a detailed reply by January 30. The next hearing is scheduled for January 31.