FORMER Chief Minister and AICC General Secretary (Assam) Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday accused the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) of serious irregularities in the State Service Examination-2024 and 2025, and called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) inquiry into the matter. Speaking to media at the Congress party’s Rajiv Bhawan in Raipur, Baghel said that over the past two years, the CGPSC’s examinations have been marred by discrepancies. He alleged that in the 2024 State Service (Main) Examination, candidates who wrote correct answers and those who gave incorrect ones were awarded equal marks; in some cases, candidates with wrong answers received higher marks than those with correct responses. “Serious discrepancies have come to light upon examination of the students’ answer sheets,” he said. Baghel highlighted a specific issue in the 2025 examination, for which the CGPSC advertised 265 posts. As per the standard practice of calling three times the number of vacancies for interview, 795 candidates (265 × 3) should have reached the interview stage. However, only 608 candidates qualified.

 

The Commission’s stand is that 187 candidates failed to secure the minimum required marks, but Baghel said the candidates contest this, asserting they did achieve the cutoff. “The Commission must prove that these 187 candidates did not achieve the minimum marks,” he said. Baghel demanded that the CGPSC make answer sheets available to all candidates before the interview stage, and provide copies free of charge even to those not shortlisted. He questioned the fairness of the 2025 process if irregularities occurred in 2024: “If irregularities occurred in the evaluation of answer sheets for the 2024 State Service (Main) Examination, what guarantee is there that such irregularities did not occur in 2025?” Baghel demanded that the State Service Examination2025 interviews be postponed until the issue is resolved. He also sought the release of all answer sheets before the interviews to allow candidates to verify their evaluation, clear criteria for answer-sheet evaluators, and publication of model answers for the Main Examination. He further demanded re-evaluation of all answer sheets and strict adherence to the 1:3 ratio for shortlisting candidates for the interview. Baghel urged that both the 2024 and 2025 State Service Examination irregularities be investigated by the CBI and ED to ensure an independent and credible probe.