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FOLLOW-UP
Move to scrap PPSC selections
Punjab Govt may hold selection tests again
Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 28
The Punjab Government is likely to initiate a move shortly to cancel all recruitments done by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) during the chairmanship of Mr Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu, who is facing trials under the Corruption Act.

The authorities concerned had also been collecting evidences against those civil and police officials who were selected first by PPSC and then acted as “touts” for others to secure jobs for them.

Informed sources told TNS that the government had started preparing a blueprint of the exercise to be carried out to cancel all recruitments done by the PPCC under the chairmanship of Mr Sidhu. Legal opinions were also being taken in same connection. Four close confidants of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh are handling the matter. The process of cancellation would start the moment an acting Chairman of PPSC is appointed by the Governor.

Sources said after cancelling these recruitments, the Punjab Government would hold the tests for same posts again through revamped PPSC or through other means. Only the candidates, who appeared in the test earlier for the same posts, would be given chance. No new applications would be invited.

After conducting the tests and subsequent interviews, the candidates who clear the tests would be given the same seniority and service benefits while those who were earlier selected but fail in these tests, would be expelled from their services. What would be fate of those candidates who were selected on the basis of their merit, could not be known.

The Punjab Government had taken a decision to take steps to avoid various problems it might face to check the genuineness of each selection. Apart from it, the Punjab Government has also been trying to send the message to the concerned quarters that it was committed on its pre-election promises of eradicating corruption from the government run institutions and action had been started for the same.

A senior functionary of the state government said in the eyes of law, those who gave and accepted bribe were guilty and hence both should be punished. And those, who deserved and could not get job despite the fact that they put up hard work, should be given their due.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that a section of government officials who have amassed huge wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income have started removing the valuables from their bank lockers fearing the anti-corruption drive launched by the government. They have also been trying to make arrangements to find out ways to declare their unaccounted income.

On the other hand, a section of Congressmen of the region have decided to meet Capt Amarinder Singh in connection with demand of a thorough probe into the multi-crore irrigation scam allegedly involving members and functionaries of previous SAD-BJP government in the state.

PPSC selections fair, claim teachers
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 28
Hundreds of college cadre teachers, selected by the PPSC and whose appointments were stalled by the Punjab Government after the PPSC job-for-cash scam was unearthed by the Vigilance Bureau, today demanded that appointment letters should be issued to them since their selection was done in a ‘free and fair manner’ by the PPSC.

About 400 college lecturers from all over the state, who had converged at the local Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall here to chalk out their plan of action on a call given by the Selected Government College Lecturer’s Association, asserted that even as they were innocent victims and there was no fault on their part, their appointments had been stalled by the government. “We are with the government as far as the eradication of corruption is concerned but is it right to make us victims of misdeeds of Ravi Sidhu?” said Shailendra Kumar, president of the association.

He said most of selected candidates were highly qualified gold medalists and had cleared the UGC and other requisite examinations, but this was not enough to remove the stigma attached to their appointments.

“This has lowered our reputation in the eyes of the people, who treat us as criminals and ask us how much we had paid for our selection. Moreover, the state government has rubbed salt on our wounds by not paying heed to us,” said Hargurpartap Singh, executive member of the association.

He said their appointment was stalled in spite of the fact that no question mark had been raised on their selection by any of the board members, all of whom had already been exonerated by the Chief Minister and who had been boycotting other selections made by Ravi Sidhu. The association also decided to meet the Chief Minister.

He further said their selection was made on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He claimed that money did not exchange hands in the selection of these lecturers as the selection procedure was based on the rules of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and a candidate not fulfilling these norms was not called by the PPSC for interviews.

“Many among us have excellent academic records and our parents have spent all their earnings in our education”, a number of students selected by the PPSC maintained.

Ms Rupinderjit Kaur, a gold medallist in Punjabi, while referring to the selection process said besides the PPSC members, the viewpoints of the subject expert at the time of the interview are very important. There is no subject expert on the interview panel for the PCS and DSP posts, she added.

Appreciating the arrest of Ravi Sidhu and the anti-corruption drive launched by the Chief Minister, they urged Capt Amarinder Singh to look into their selection procedure and then give orders for the issuance of their appointment letters. They said after eight years, posts of college lecturers were being filled and that too following an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.