Don't blame KTR for linking paper leak incident: Council Chairman

Hyderabad: Telangana Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy said the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC)' question paper leak incident was done due to mistake of two guilty persons and it was not fair to blame the entire government into the episode.

In an informal chat with media persons here on Thursday, Gutha Sukender Reddy said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao always wanted that the TSPSC should be worked in a transparent manner and it had been proven that there was no single incident of paper leak during the last nine years despite the thousands of posts being recruited by the State government.

Terming the paper leak incident as unfortunate, the Legislative Council Chairman said that he could understand the pain of unemployed youth who have to appear for the exams again following the cancellation of previous examinations.

"It is not fair on the part of opposition parties to blame IT Minister KT Rama Rao linking the paper leak incident.He is no way related to the episode," Gutha Sukender Reddy pointed out.

Responding to the pending Bills which have been with Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan without giving her assent, he said that if there were any flaws in the Bills, the Governor should make them corrections or send the Bills back.

"It is not a good thing holding the Bills for months and years together. Because of her delay in giving the clearance for the Bills, it is showing an adverse impact on the recruitment drive. There should be a time bound to clear the Bills by the Governor," he pointed out.

Stating that all sections of people are happy under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the Telangana has witnessed unprecedented progress in all the sectors since the formation of the State, Gutha Sukender Reddy exuded confidence that the BRS party would retain power with absolute majority in the ensuing Assembly elections.

Governor seeks status report

The Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has sought the latest status report, within 48 hours, on the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) question paper leak case.

On the Governor's instructions, the Raj Bhavan wrote to the Chief Secretary, the TSPSC and the Director General of Police (DGP) seeking the latest status within 48 hours.

In the letter, it was asked for intimating status report as at present on the alleged leakage including Special Investigation Team's investigation status, the Raj Bhavan said.

The TSPSC was also asked to furnish the details of its regular and outsourcing employees who appeared for examinations with or without permission from the Commission and their performance in the exams and preparatory leave etc, apart from the present status of the case.

This came a day after the opposition Congress urged the Governor to exercise her special powers to take action in the case.

A delegation of state Congress leaders led by its state chief A Revanth Reddy had urged her to dissolve the TSPSC until the investigation in the case is completed.

Revanth Reddy had stated that under Article 317 of the Constitution, the Governor has the powers to suspend those in TSPSC who are involved in the paper leak. "Only then can the probe into the case be transparent," he said.

He said the Governor told the delegation that she will look into the issue and take necessary action after seeking legal opinion.