Maharashtra MPSC exam irregularities: State Congress chief demands chairman, secretary’s resignation, alleges govt apathy

Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal on Wednesday demanded the removal of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission MPSC Chairman and Secretary over the commissionrsquos alleged ldquochaoticrdquo functioning He questioned whether the chairman was being spared action because of his alleged proximity to Chief Minister Devendra FadnavisAddressing a press conference at Tilak Bhavan Sapkal alleged that students have been facing repeated problems with the MPSC and claimed that the state government has failed to intervene despite lakhs of aspirants taking to the streets to protest against the commissions functioningSapkal also linked the death by suicide of an MPSC aspirant from Dharashiv district to the issue alleging that he was a victim of the ldquoindifferencerdquo of the government and MPSCldquoThe aspirant did not die by suicide but was a victim of the indifference of the government and MPSCrdquo Sapkal said demanding that a case of culpable homicide be registered against those responsibleThe police suspect that a debt of around Rs 25 lakh led the aspirant to take the extreme angle and are investigating furtherSapkal alleged that there was ldquomassive chaosrdquo within the MPSC despite the government being aware of the situation He also criticised the MPSC Chairman for saying that he had no connection with the paper leak controversyldquoSuch a response shows his brazennessrdquo Sapkal saidCongress alleges over 3 crore voters could be excluded under SIRSapkal also criticised the Election Commissions Special Intensive Revision SIR exercise alleging that it could lead to more than 3 crore voters being excluded from Maharashtras electoral rollsHe alleged that the exercise was being conducted on the lines of the ldquoBengal patternrdquo and claimed that the Election Commission was working to benefit the BJPAccording to Sapkal more than 3 crore voters have been excluded from the electoral process in Maharashtra under various categories during the SIR exerciseHe claimed that around 206 crore voters had been categorised as absent shifted dead or duplicate ASDD while another 122 crore voters had been placed under ldquoanomalyrdquo and ldquounmappedrdquo categoriesSapkal claimed that many of these voters could eventually be excluded from the electoral rolls He said that of Maharashtras 978 crore voters the current situation suggested that 328 crore could lose their right to voteThese figures and allegations were made by Sapkal and the Congress and have not been independently verifiedSapkal also questioned why the Election Commission was not publishing the list of voters categorised as ldquoanomalyrdquo and ldquounmappedrdquo and demanded clarification on the reasons for their exclusionCongress seeks extension of deadline for claims and objectionsThe Congress has demanded that the deadline for filing claims and objections under the SIR exercise be extended from September 30 to November 30Sapkal said the existing deadline falls during the period of GauriGanpati and several other festivals when many people travel to their native places potentially making it difficult for them to file objectionsThe Congress has also demanded thatThe boothwise list of ldquoanomalyrdquo and ldquounmappedrdquo voters be published and shared with political partiesNotices to such voters be served physically instead of only through WhatsAppHearings be conducted at pollingstation level rather than at three or four locations in each Assembly constituencyThe list of corrections made to the ldquoanomalyrdquo category be made publicSapkal seeks drought declaration in MaharashtraSapkal also demanded that the state government declare a drought in Maharashtra alleging that inadequate rainfall had severely affected the kharif seasonHe claimed crops had dried up and farmers were facing distress Sapkal also alleged that the BJP governments farm loan waiver had failed to deliver and that farmers had not received crop insurance paymentsHe demanded that the government immediately declare a drought and provide free seeds and fertilisers for the rabi seasonCongress alleges deception over reservationOn the reservation issue Sapkal accused the BJPled Mahayuti government of ldquodeceivingrdquo the Maratha Dhangar OBC tribal and other communities in the name of reservationHe demanded that Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis disclose the assurances they had given to Maratha quota activist Manoj JarangeSapkal questioned why the community had to resort to protests and fasting despite the government having twice announced that reservation had been grantedHe also claimed that the Congressled government had provided reservation to the Maratha community in 2014 but alleged that the BJP government that came to power subsequently did not implement itSapkal said a caste census was the way forward to resolve the reservation issue