Uttarakhand: Congress marches towards CM's residence over alleged paper leak scandal

Dehradun, Oct 3 (PTI) The Congress on Friday marched towards the chief minister’s residence in Dehradun with a three-point demand regarding the alleged question paper leak scandal in the graduate-level examination of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC).

Their demands included a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe under the supervision of a sitting High Court judge.

However, the party workers, led by state Congress chief Karan Mahara, were stopped by police on the way before they could reach the CM’s residence. In protest, they courted arrest.

Among those arrested were former state Congress president and MLA Pritam Singh, former state chief Ganesh Godiyal and MLA Qazi Nizamuddin.

The Congress’ two other demands were the removal of UKSSSC chairman Ganesh Singh Martolia and cancellation of the graduate-level exam held on September 21, along with the announcement of a new date.

State Congress vice president Suryakant Dhasmana said the party would continue its agitation until all three demands were met.

The march came after youths had postponed their sit-in protest until October 10. Earlier, they had suspended their indefinite protest following CM Pushkar Singh Dhami’s acceptance of their demand for a CBI probe.

The chief minister has already recommended a CBI probe into the alleged paper leak and has also indicated that the other demands would be considered.

Before this, the government formed a special investigation team (SIT) under the supervision of retired High Court judge UC Dhyani, which is conducting its investigation.

The CM said that in the past four years, the government had conducted over 25,000 recruitments transparently without a single complaint.

He added that only one case has drawn a complaint, but the government is fully committed to dispelling all doubts from the minds of the youth. PTI DPT AMJ AMJ