BJP National General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh today demanded the strictest action against all those responsible for the organised cheating racket unearthed in the Pharmacist Officer Recruitment Examination conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, calling it one of the biggest betrayals of Punjabis under the Bhagwant Mann government.
Chugh said that nearly 7,000 candidates appeared for 454 posts across 25 examination centres in Faridkot, Kotkapura and Ferozepur on July 19. However, investigators discovered a sophisticated cheating network involving hidden pen cameras, concealed earpieces and battery-operated wireless devices through which answers were being transmitted in real time inside examination halls.
He said police investigations have led to the arrest of 28 candidates and seven key conspirators, besides the recovery of 27 wireless communication devices. Preliminary findings revealed that question papers were secretly scanned and transmitted outside examination centres before being solved at a makeshift control room in Faridkot. Answers were then relayed back to candidates through wireless equipment.
According to investigators, candidates were charged between Rs. 3.5 lakh and Rs. 13 lakh for guaranteed success in the examination."These shocking revelations prove that government jobs in Punjab are no longer being decided by merit but by the highest bidder. Thousands of hardworking aspirants have been cheated and their future auctioned away under the watch of the Aam Aadmi Party government," Chugh said.
The BJP leader questioned why basic safeguards such as signal jammers were not deployed despite intelligence inputs received during the examination. He described the lapse as criminal negligence and said accountability rests directly with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his cabinet.
Chugh said this incident is not isolated but part of a continuing pattern of examination scandals under the AAP government, citing previous controversies surrounding recruitment examinations and the PSTET examination.
Targeting AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Chugh said it was surprising that a leader who frequently promotes his so-called education model has maintained complete silence over the future of 7,000 Punjab youth. He said the AAP was playing with the sentiments of Punjabi youth, luring the young generation with tall promises while its own government auctioned away their hard-earned opportunities.
"When young people demanded jobs, this government responded with lathis. Today, when their rights have been openly sold, the entire Aam Aadmi Party has chosen silence. This silence is not accidental; it reflects the character of the government," he said.
Chugh demanded the immediate cancellation of the examination and its fresh conduct under a transparent system, the strictest action against everyone involved in the racket along with the political and administrative patronage behind it, and an independent audit of all major recruitment examinations conducted in Punjab during the last four years. He said the BJP would continue to stand with every honest aspirant whose future has been jeopardised by corruption and would raise the issue both on the streets and inside legislative forums.