Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has demanded a comprehensive investigation into all recruitment examinations conducted in recent years after employees of the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board (RSMSSB) were caught tampering with OMR sheets.
Raising serious questions over the integrity of the examination system, Gehlot accused the BJP-led state government of politicising the paper leak issue. Taking to X, he said, “The revelation of OMR sheet tampering in the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board has raised grave concerns about the system.”
He quoted the report of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and said, "The malpractice began during the previous BJP government in 2018 and continued uninterrupted until 2026." Gehlot termed this revelation “extremely alarming". He pointed out that the employees involved in the fraud remained active and posted in the Staff Selection Board even during 2024 and 2025.
Gehlot stressed that all examinations conducted over the past two years now stand under suspicion. “All these examinations were held under the supervision of the same system and personnel who have now been caught for OMR tampering. Therefore, the credibility of these exams is seriously in doubt,” he wrote.
He also cited persistent complaints from candidates regarding unusually high cut-off marks in recruitment exams over the past two years, saying these concerns now appear justified and demand answers. Urging immediate action, Gehlot appealed to the Chief Minister to order a detailed investigation into all examinations conducted in 2024 and 2025.
“I hope the government will take swift and serious steps, keeping in mind the future of the youth,” he said. Highlighting steps taken during the previous Congress government, Gehlot said Rajasthan became the first state in the country to enact a stringent law against paper leaks, providing for life imprisonment, confiscation of property, and fines of up to Rs 10 crore.
He noted that, for the first time in history, a member of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) was arrested. During the Congress tenure, the SOG made over 250 arrests and demolished properties of paper leak mafia members using bulldozers.
“Whether it is a Congress or BJP government, those who commit irregularities must be punished,” Gehlot asserted. The former CM maintained that the Congress government never allowed politics to interfere with justice. He said that wherever shortcomings were found, corrective steps were taken, including cancellation of examinations when required in the interest of students.
“Regardless of which party is in power, anyone found guilty must be punished under the stringent anti-paper leak law so that justice is ensured,” he concluded.