The Jharkhand Assembly witnessed stormy scenes on December 20 as the opposition BJP demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of state civil services examinations. Chief Minister Hemant Soren defended his administration by further attacking the BJP and calling it a party with a 'Manuwadi' mindset whose members are unable to accept the success of job aspirants belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and OBC communities in the civil services exam.
"People who have a Manuwadi mindset are having trouble over the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) results because members from SC, ST and OBC categories are coming forward and have performed better," Soren said at the Assembly.
Speaking to the press outside the Assembly, BJP leader Babulal Marandi clarified that his party is not questioning the category of people who have cleared the examinations. "Why has the commission not released the OMR sheets in the public domain as it was promised in the examination notification?" he asked.
The opposition's attacks over the issue have been intensifying since December 16, which is when the ongoing Winter Session began. As soon as the House assembled on Monday for the Question Hour, BJP members started raising slogans and demanded the immediate removal of the JPSC Chairman. Soren went on to issue an open challenge to the opposition members where he demanded a shred of evidence to back all the allegations against his government. Soren said, "I challenge all 81 members here to come with any proof. We know what the history of JPSC was in the past. The previous government interfered with its activities."
However, opposition members were not satisfied with Soren's statement. BJP MLA Amar Kumar Bauri said that the CM was making "divisive" comments "to defend corruption and the JPSC Chairman". CPI (ML) legislator Binod Singh demanded data from the government to back its claims.
