The deadlock continued between competitive service exam aspirants and protesting students and the Maharashtra government over the removal of Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) chairman Vivek Bhimanwar.
MPSC exam aspirants remained firm on their demand for the resignation of MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar in connection with the drugs inspector post examination paper leak and alleged irregularities in the examination. The students also demanded transparency in the conduct and pattern of the examination, as well as reforms in the recruitment process.
On the other hand, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis refused to remove MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar, citing a technical issue. He said the post of MPSC chairman is a constitutional position and that only the President of India has the power to remove the chairman of the MPSC.
“On the direction of the President of India, the probe against the MPSC chairman has to be conducted by a retired judge. If he or she is found guilty, only then can action be taken against the MPSC chairman. Besides, the incumbent MPSC chairman is not solely responsible for the current paper leak. The paper leak happened during the tenure of the previous MPSC chairman, so how is it right to hold the current MPSC chairman responsible?
“We are in favour of the students. Therefore, we are ready to conduct a probe against both the former and incumbent chairmen of the MPSC. If there is any misconduct by the current chairman of the MPSC, then we will not hesitate to recommend to the President of India that the chairman be removed. We have already made that request to the Governor of Maharashtra.
“We have already accepted all the demands of the MPSC aspirants, so they should have called off the strike in Pune. But this protest has now become a political and ego battle. This is neither fair nor acceptable,” CM Fadnavis said.
He added that the government was not there to protect anyone found to have indulged in misconduct.
“We are not here to protect anyone who is involved in misconduct. Once the probe is completed and its report is submitted, only then will we know whether the chairman of the MPSC is responsible or not,” CM Fadnavis said.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court refused to intervene in the matter, saying that the students had the right to protest and were not anti-social elements. However, the court said that the students should not obstruct roads or cause inconvenience to the public.
The court also reminded the students to focus on their studies and continue preparing for their examinations.