Nagpur: NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar on Tuesday criticised Maharashtra Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) handling of paper leaks and demanded chairman Vivek Bhimanwar’s resignation, saying the body needed an administrator like IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe to restore order.Addressing the media during his Nagpur visit, Pawar said, “Bhimanwar said the leaks happened before his tenure. So if Bhimanwar is not resigning then CM Devendra Fadnavis should take this up with the Governor. Put someone in MPSC who has a clean image, like Tukaram Mundhe. Just as Mundhe cleared out adulteration in milk, someone needs to clear out the corrupt officials at MPSC, so that students trust the commission again.” He also alleged that Bhimanwar during his tenure as transport commissioner was embroiled in financial controversy.Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said Bhimanwar’s response of not being in charge of MPSC when the paper leak occurred does not cut it. Wadettiwar said, “Whether it leaked before him or after, the point is we’re questioning MPSC’s entire examination system. Exams have had to be cancelled repeatedly during his tenure too. Also, regardless of who was in charge it was the Mahayuti govt which was in power throughout. Mahayuti has given MPSC a corrupt character it never had before. These children work day and night, sweat it out, spend four or five years buried in their studies for their parents’ dreams, and still there’s still black-marketeering in MPSC exams.”Pawar said a separate leak had also surfaced in an internal promotion exam for the state excise department, conducted by MPSC, distinct from the drug-inspector paper leak in which arrests have already been made. “The marking pattern for that exam, which is supposed to be a secret, was leaked to some officers. A Nagpur police officer has written that an official of the commission itself leaked it, and some officers used it to secure their promotion and training postings. If this is how it works, tomorrow these very officers will ask citizens for money before giving them govt service,” said Pawar.In Pune, Pawar had participated in a massive student protest on Monday. On the scale of the protests, Pawar said about 26,000 students had demonstrated and added that the number could swell to 50,000 if the agitation continues. “There are three days left. If the govt doesn’t give a positive response, students across districts will protest. There is a big protest planned in Latur on Sept 12, and students in Pune are set to protest on Shastri Road within three days,” Pawar said. “I request the govt to please take this student’s anger and these demands seriously. Nobody is doing politics here. Accept the demands and let good administration come to MPSC.”
