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Journalism of Courage
Six months after the Gujarat State Law Commission recommended legislation to crack down on frequent paper leaks in the state, the Bhupendra Patel government is promising the same after yet another exam had to be cancelled, leading to Opposition attacks and public ire.
The latest incident of paper leak involved an exam to fill a thousand vacancies for junior clerks in government offices, for which over 9.5 lakh candidates were to appear.
Soon after, the Gujarat government announced that it was in the process of framing a strict law to check paper leaks in recruitment examinations for government jobs.
With such leaks dashing hopes of lakhs for a government job, it was one of the issues the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress had raised in the recent Assembly elections. The manifesto of both parties had promised a law to check the incidents.
The state has seen several paper leaks in recruitment examinations for government jobs since 2018. The Teachers Aptitude Test exam, held in July that year for a job as a government primary school teacher, was cancelled following a leak.
An FIR was registered, but in December 2018, the paper for the recruitment examination for posts of Lok Rakshak Dal in the Gujarat Police got leaked next. The examination was cancelled just an hour before it was to start, stranding around 8.75 lakh candidates.
A year later, in December 2019, the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board cancelled the recruitment exam it had held the previous month for posts of non-secretariat clerk and office assistant after it emerged that the paper had leaked.
Around six lakh had applied, and thousands sat on agitation in Gandhinagar demanding cancellation of the exam, after which the government held an inquiry that proved the paper had indeed leaked.
In December 2021, a day after the recruitment examination for the post of head clerk was held, youth leader Yuvrajsinh Jadeja, who is now with the AAP, alleged that the paper was leaked and sold for Rs 6-12 lakh. He also claimed to have evidence of the same. A government inquiry again held the allegations valid and the exam was cancelled.
The latest leak involved the recruitment examination for the post of junior clerk. On January 29, hours before the exam was to be held, the Gujarat Panchayat Service Selection Board announced that it had discovered that the paper had leaked and was postponing the test.
Opposition leaders lambasted the BJP government and alleged involvement of party leaders in the leaks. They also demanded resignation of the minister concerned, and the introduction of a law to check paper leaks.
Calling for such a law back in July 2022, the State Law Commission had said that repeated incidents of paper leaks not only “betray” the trust of the general public, but also “adversely affect the credibility of the state government”.
It noted that “unwanted incidences” of paper leak in recruitment exams were “rampantly increasing” in Gujarat, hurting youths who have been “seriously preparing for such exams”.
Talking about the Law Commission’s recommendation, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi told The Indian Express, “The state government has been forced to promise a law after 14 paper leaks in recent years. The common man and the educated youth of Gujarat have come to believe that these could not have been possible without the blessings of those sitting in government.”
Welcoming a law to check leaks, Doshi added that the government should ensure that it is strictly implemented, and does not remain on paper.
Gujarat AAP spokesperson Yogesh Jadvani also welcomed the government announcement of a law, but added: “We also want that the law is not used for the benefit of the ruling BJP and its leaders. It should be implemented strictly and against all those responsible for paper leaks… What happens to the laws against cow slaughter and liquor prohibition should not happen in the case of paper leaks.”
A senior BJP leader admitted that the move was a means to “instill confidence among the public”. “This (paper leaks) has happened too many times now and it has shaken the confidence of youths. It is not a good sign. The government is trying to tell the people of the state that it is serious about the issue and is ready to do what is needed to prevent the same.”
A senior bureaucrat, however, said that a law alone was not enough, terming the government announcement a “knee jerk reaction”. “The government should go to the root cause of the issue and bring administrative changes in the way recruitment examinations are conducted. Why are there no paper leaks in examinations held by the Union Public Service Commission or Gujarat Public Service Commission? We can have a similar system here.”
