Tag: Vyapam

‘Most Scams Under Shivraj Govt in Schemes for Poor’: Congress Candidate and Whistleblower

Paras Saklecha is the Congress’s candidate for the Ratlam constituency. He tells The Wire that corruption is among the top three issues that would count against the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh.

New Delhi: “Shivraj Sarkar ka matlab hi 50% commission hain.” (The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government is synonymous with 50% commission). Printed in saffron font, this one-line indictment of the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh was part of the preface to a document released by its rival Congress, listing the incumbent’s alleged scams in its 18 years in power. With a copy of this placard in hand, the Congress’s chief minister candidate Kamal Nath in August released an Aarop Patra (chargesheet) of alleged corruption and scams under the Chouhan government. The document was titled “Ghotala hi Ghotala–Ghotala seth, 50% commission rate,” a direct dig at Chouhan, who is described as ‘Lootera Mama’.

Standing alongside Nath at the release was a wavy-haired man with a geeky appearance who has often been at the forefront of the fight against corruption in the state: Paras Saklecha. He played a significant role in drafting the Congress’s ‘chargesheet’ against Chouhan, one that has underlined corruption as a major point of attack in the party’s campaign against the BJP.

A mathematics tutor-cum-politician, Saklecha is a former independent MLA. He joined the Congress in 2018, months before the state voted that year. In the 2023 assembly election, the Congress has fielded him from Ratlam, a constituency in the Malwa region. Saklecha, fondly referred to as dada (elder brother) by students, argues that corruption was among the top three issues that count go against the Chouhan government in the November 17 election.

“They will face heavy losses due to their corruption, which has increased at all levels. There is corruption everywhere in the state, whether you have to get any enrolment done or want an Ayushman Bharat card or BPL coupon made. The administration is unrestrained,” he said.

Talking to The Wire, Saklecha alleged that an overwhelmingly high number of alleged corruption scams in MP had taken place in welfare schemes for the poor.

“They were supposed to bolster the financial condition of the poor. But that did not happen. Instead, the mafia swallowed all the funds,” he said.

The Congress’s Aarop Patra mentions over 225 “scams” under the Chouhan government, including charges of direct financial irregularities along with instances of misgovernance and mismanagement.

At the top of the list is the alleged Poshan Ahar ‘scam’ related to the supplementary nutrition scheme run by the government’s Women and Child Development Department. Citing a report by the Accountant General, the Congress has said that vehicles mentioned as trucks meant to distribute ration under the scheme, were found to be motorcycles, autos and tractors. The Congress also alleged that 11,000 metric tonnes of take-home ration was distributed to beneficiaries only on paper.

Also featured in the Congress chargesheet is the alleged irregularity in the recruitment of contractual nursing staff under the National Health Mission. The recruitment process of the scheme came under the scanner earlier this year after the exam paper was leaked. The exams were held for recruitment on 2,284 posts, for which 45,000 candidates were to appear.

While the embers of the infamous “Vyapam Scam” in Chouhan’s previous terms have gradually died out, fresh allegations in the recruitment process of Patwaris (revenue department staffers) have rocked the government. The matter, labelled the “Patwari Recruitment Scam” by the Congress, came to light after it was found that seven out of the top 10 candidates who had taken the online examination for the recruitment came from the same exam centre in Gwalior, a college run by a BJP MLA. Facing a demand by the Congress for a CBI inquiry, Chouhan in July put a stay on the appointment of the qualified candidates. The Congress chargesheet also includes allegations of irregularities in the state’s mid-day meal scheme, Anganwadi department, distribution of tap water, para medical scholarship, sale of tribal land, illegal mining and the shoddy construction of the Mahakal Lok Corridor in Ujjain, where statues of Saptarishis were damaged due to gusty winds in May.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Photo: Twitter/@ChouhanShivraj

Saklecha says in addition to the long list of corruption charges, the concerning issue of unemployment and the manner in which the BJP overthrew the Congress government through the defection of almost two dozen MLAs in 2020, would play heavily in the minds of the voters.

In 2018, the Congress caused a major upset as it emerged as the largest party in the MP assembly, winning 114 out of 230 seats. Though it fell short of a majority, it formed a government with the support of four independent MLAs, two Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs and one Samajwadi Party MLA. This mandate, read with the huge downward swing in the seat tally of the incumbent BJP from 165 to 109, was an indication that the people voted to overthrow the BJP government after 15 years of its rule, says Saklecha.

“But when the BJP formed the government again through defections, the voters felt cheated. There is huge anger among them regarding this betrayal. That’s why in this election, they will vote against BJP with twice the strength and hurt those who hurt their votes. This is going in favour of the Congress.”

The issue of unemployment linked with the various irregularities in the recruitment process of various jobs has also put the Chouhan government on the back foot from time to time.

While other whistle-blowers gained much of the limelight in highlighting irregularities in the Vyapam Scam in 2014 and 2015, Saklecha was probably the first legislator to raise the subject in the state assembly way back in 2009. He was then an independent MLA.

Over the years, Saklecha has consistently filed RTIs and petitions and dug out key documents regarding the case, which is still being probed by the CBI. In 2015, he even published a 100-page detailed summary of the scam, ‘Vyapamgate,’ details from which were later used by the Congress to level corruption charges against Chouhan.

In 2014, he submitted a 340-page document to the CBI after the agency put out an advertisement asking the public who had complaints regarding the Vyapam recruitment scam to send documents and letters. However, nine years later, the scrutiny of his documents is still on, says Saklecha, who recently approached the Madhya Pradesh high court seeking information about the status of the probe.

Given that Saklecha has a sound footing in finances and a record of raising corruption issues inside and outside the assembly, his candidature from Ratlam has drawn interest. The BJP won the Ratlam seat in 2013 and 2018.

Saklecha started out as a bank clerk, parallelly coaching students preparing for railways and bank exams. A gold medal winner in physics and a brilliant mathematician—his formulas are taught in the Hindi belt—Saklecha is also a poet and writer. In 1999, he was elected as the mayor of Ratlam, a result of his popularity for running free coaching centres for students. In 2003, he contested the assembly election for the first time but lost in a close fight to the BJP’s Himmat Kothari, who would go on to become the state’s home minister. In 2008, Saklecha won his only election. In 2014, he contested the Lok Sabha election as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Mandsaur but lost.

Vyapam 2.0? Allegations of Recruitment Scam Resurface in Madhya Pradesh.

What has raised eyebrows is the fact that seven of the 10 toppers in the recruitment examination for Group 2 posts are from a nondescript examination centre in Gwalior.

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board (ESB) found itself in controversy once again after fresh allegations of large-scale rigging in recruitment scams. This has raised fears that the ESB, which was formerly known as Vyapam, is once again riddled with systematic fraud.

What has raised eyebrows is the fact that seven of the 10 toppers in the recruitment examination for Group 2 posts like patwari (a revenue official) are from a nondescript examination centre in Gwalior. Called the NRI College of Engineering and Management, it is owned by BJP MLA Sanjeev Kumar Kushwaha from Bhind.

Nearly 9.80 lakh candidates took the test, conducted in March and April this year across Madhya Pradesh. The ESB announced the results on June 30 and the names of the top 10 scorers on July 10. This is when allegations about rigging emerged.

The board that conducted the test has started examining CCTV footage and the computer logs of the centre where the seven toppers wrote the exam.

While opposition parties are demanding an independent probe into the matter, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has denied any irregularities in the recruitment test. The state’s home minister and government spokesperson Narottam Mishra ruled out any irregularities and accused the Congress of trying to “mislead” people ahead of the scheduled assembly polls in the state later this year.

He said that nearly 120 participants have cleared the exam at that particular centre. “Why are questions being raised about only seven toppers? The Congress is trying to mislead the people with its propaganda,” Mishra said.

But this very fact, former Union minister and Congress leader Arun Yadav says, is suspicious. He said that so many aspirants qualifying from one centre is reminiscent of past scams.

The Congress is also making comparisons to the multi-layered Vyapam scam that rocked the nation exactly a decade ago for its sheer magnitude and macabre nature. The recruitment-cum-examination fraud that surfaced in July 2013 involved a mind-boggling number of politicians, bureaucrats, middlemen, impersonators and job aspirants. They were found to be complicit in an organised racket that manipulated in myriad ways the processes of various recruitment and pre-medical tests conducted by the Professional Examination Board or Vyavasayik Pariksha Mandal (Vyapam) since 2008 to rake in the moolah. Nearly 45 persons related to the scam died under mysterious circumstances.

Although the state government renamed the infamous Vyapam as Employees Service Board to avoid the notoriety its name evoked, allegations of scams in the recruitments conducted by the body have kept surfacing.

Arun Yadav alluded to this, saying, “The name of Vyapam has changed thrice over the years. But the corruption continues unabated.”

In recent years, the recruitments of nursing staff, school teachers, constables and agriculture development officers have attracted similar allegations of rigging but the Chouhan government brazened them out.

However, three tests – agriculture extension officers, senior agriculture officers and nursing staff in 2021 – had to be cancelled by the government because the scam appeared too glaring to ignore. The tests were mired in controversy after marks secured by the 10 toppers in the agriculture extension officers’ exam were found nearly identical and they all committed the same errors in their exam. Chief minister Chouhan ordered an inquiry, which showed that the paper was leaked by the private company which was contracted to conduct the exams. The company had already been mired in controversies due to the Vyapam case.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Congress cries foul

In the latest Patwari recruitment test too, there is a strong suspicion that the question paper may have been leaked. Congress leader Arun Yadav has pointed out alleged inconsistencies in the recruitment process. Some of these, he said, were:

  • The top scorers belonged to a minuscule fraction of the total examinees, their roll numbers ranging from 2488 7991 to 2488 9693, from a pool of roughly 1,700 candidates. Considering that 9.8 lakh individuals took the exam, the odds of such a coincidence are highly suspicious
  • The answer sheets of the toppers reveal that they signed their exam forms in Hindi but answered the papers in English.
  • These candidates accurately answered 15 questions which were later cancelled by the ESB because incorrect options were provided as answers. No marks were awarded for these questions.
  • One of the seven toppers scored 185 marks. With the ESB removing 15 questions, it meant that the candidate got 100% marks.
  • In the body-marking column (in the answer sheet), one selected candidate wrote in English: ‘Cut on mark nose’; whereas the correct English would be ‘cut mark on nose’’. Arun Yadav wondered how she got 100% marks in English.

The Congress has demanded a CBI probe into the scam, alleging the involvement of BJP leaders in it.

BJP MLA Sanjeev Kumar Kushwaha, whose college in Gwalior is in the eye of the controversy, was elected on a BSP ticket but later joined the ruling party.

When contacted, Kushwaha told the Indian Express: “This institution belongs to me. It used to be an engineering college, which shut down because of low admissions. It has a computer lab and other facilities which are now used as a test centre. We rent out the place for conducting examinations. This (patwari) examination is conducted by the Employees Selection Board (ESB), you should ask them what happened.”

Former chief minister Kamal Nath stated that there have been large-scale irregularities in the recruitment examinations in the state. “Scams have engulfed recruitment exams such as nursing, constable, agriculture extension officers, and many others,” he said.

Exam Centres in China, UP: Yet Another Maha Govt Recruitment Drive Runs Into Controversy

Though the government tried to downplay the issue as a ‘minor technical snag’, pressure from aspirants meant it had to be cancelled at the last minute.

Mumbai: After an anxious few weeks spent waiting and coordinating with the Maharashtra health department, Nanded resident Tanaji Telange finally obtained his hall tickets for exams to two Group ‘C’ posts in the department that he had applied for. However, the exam centre was at Paithan in Aurangabad district, almost 300 kilometres away from his place.

Even as Telange was working out the logistics to attend the exams, scheduled on Saturday, September 25, he was notified about a new exam centre. This was a further 50 kilometres away.

The 26-year-old Telange, who is appearing for the junior clerk and operation theatre assistant positions, was issued three different hall tickets instead of two. All of them mentioned different locations and different exam timings. He was baffled.

Another candidate, Datta Patukar, was notified about an exam centre 1500 kilometres away, in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. For another candidate, the experience was even more surreal. He was issued a blank hall ticket, with just the pin code of Yutan village in China mentioned on it.

These exams were the first to be held in five years by the health department to fill over 6,250 vacant posts in Group C and D categories. Over 8 lakh aspirants from across the state have applied for these posted, only to encounter chaos and errors.

This is the latest in a series of exams conducted by the Maharastra government to be mired in confusion, controversy and allegations of fraud and mismanagement.

The chaos, however, was termed as a “minor technical snag” by the Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope.

When candidates pushed back and started a social media campaign exposing the department’s apparent lack of seriousness to conduct the exam, Tope was forced to abruptly cancel the exam late at night on September 24.

Earlier, Tope had claimed that for a brief period, the server was accessed somewhere in Uttar Pradesh, causing an error in the exam centres on some hall tickets. He, however, did not have any explanation for how a pin code from China was printed on a few hall tickets. Later at night, while announcing the cancellation of the exam, Tope blamed Nysa Communications, the private firm contracted by the Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Limited or ‘MahaIT’ to conduct these state-level competitive exams.

MahaIT is the nodal agency of the government of Maharashtra that handles recruitment to several state government posts. The health department too is conducting its exam through MahaIT. Though the agency was set up to “bolster the efficient and effective implementation of Information and Communication Technology initiatives and to establish a robust e-Governance ecosystem framework”, it has been mired in many controversies since its inception.

Hall tickets showing exam centres in Noida, a village in China and one that is entirely blank. Photo: The Wire

The Wire tried contacting Puneet Kumar, the CEO of Nysa Communications several times but got no response. The story will be updated as and when Nysa Communications responds to The Wire’s queries.

During the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led government in the state, the department signed contracts with private firms like the US-based IT company ‘UST Global’ and an Indian company ‘Arceus Infotech Private Limited’ – both of which have been accused of misappropriation of funds and involvement in a “Vyapam-like scam” that was revealed by The Wire. The department is yet to clear its name from the past alleged misdoings.

Also Read: Under Fadnavis’s Watch, a Vyapam-Like Scam Flourished in Maharashtra

Tope’s sudden decision to cancel the exam late last night might have temporarily contained the chaos, but failed to take into account the anxiety, confusion and frustration that more than 8 lakh candidates have been subjected to in the process.

In the past year, almost all state exams have had similar issues. On February 28, when the health department had conducted another set of exams, several aspirants were accused of blatant cheating through the use of sophisticated microphones and scanning machines. At several centres, the question papers had arrived late; at some places, the seals were tampered with. Multiple FIRs were registered across the state and several candidates and centre management officials were arrested.

Similarly, last month, during the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) exams for class C and D posts, several students’ organisations had pointed out the chequered past of private firm Aptech Limited engaged to conduct the exams.

Aptech has already been blacklisted by the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments but still was taken on board by the MahaIT to conduct exams in Maharashtra. The Allahabad high court and the Delhi high court too have made scathing observations against the firm, asking for proper legal action to be initiated against it.

Following allegations, the MIDC was forced to cancel a part of its exams and has written to MahaIT seeking an explanation. Officials at MIDC confirmed that MahaIT has in turn written to Aptech to clear its stand. No action has been initiated against the firm so far.

Several candidates have levelled allegations of rampant exam fraud in Maharashtra. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Vigilant students’ forum

Students’ organisations like ‘MPSC Samanvay Samiti’ and ‘Yuva Halla Bol’ have been at the forefront of exposing the system and amplifying the aspirants’ demands. Nilesh Gaikwad, a BTech graduate from Buldhana district, also a member of MPSC Samanvay Samiti says the students are doing what the government ideally ought to do.

“Earlier it was UST Global. Now it is Aptech and Nysa. Companies can be empanelled only if they meet the several criteria laid down in the contract. Clearly, the department has overlooked the glaring loopholes and have empanelled companies that are unfit to carry out large scale exams,” he said.

Delay in conducting these exams has meant increased vacancy in different departments and unrest among students. Not just the MahaIT but also the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has failed to conduct exams on time. The delay in conducting these exams was cited as a reason by several aspirants who ended their lives. In just November and December of 2020 alone, at least six separate incidents of aspirants dying by suicide have come to light.

Telange, who already works as a group D worker and hopes to jump up to group C post eventually, says the government’s failure to ensure a fair examination process has failed an entire generation. “Aspirants, mainly from the rural region, wait for years to crack these exams. Most of us are children of landless farm labourers, who have toiled for years to make a decent life. And when it is time for us to face these competitive exams, the state administration lets us down,” Telange shared.

In October last year, The Wire has published a detailed investigative article of fraud in the state’s recruitment drive carried out by the previous Devendra Fadnavis government, which by its complexity and extent, was comparable to the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board scam, more commonly known as the Vyapam scam. The Wire‘s findings were corroborated by the former Ahmednagar collector Rahul Dwivedi and a private audit firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), engaged by the state in 2018 to audit the recruitment drive. The investigation pushed the state government to sideline the previously empanelled private firms. The problem, however, has persisted.

Students’ organisations have demanded that the state government do away with private players completely and that all exams should be handled by the MPSC. Gaikwad feels, “At least, we would be able to demand accountability and there would be some transparency in the process.”

‘Recruitment Scam Under Fadnavis Worse than Vyapam’: Maharashtra Congress Chief Asks For Probe

From proxies taking exams to a mismatch in photographs submitted by candidates, The Wire’s investigation, published in October 2020 revealed a well-established scam in the recruitment process for Class ‘C’ and Class ‘D’ posts in various departments in 2019.

Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi government has appeared to wake up to the multi-crore scam that allegedly occurred in the mega recruitment drive carried out during the tenure of former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

On October 25, last year, The Wire had reported a detailed investigation into the rampant exam fraud that allegedly occurred in 2019 in exams through which Class ‘C’ and Class ‘D’ posts were to be filled in 11 departments. On March 5, speaking at the floor of Maharashtra state assembly, former speaker and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole demanded an investigation into the matter.

Similar to The Wire’s observation, Patole too compared the extent of the scam with that of the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board scam, more commonly known as the Vyapam scam. “This megabharti ghotala (mega recruitment scam) is even bigger than the scam that was unearthed in Madhya Pradesh. In the name of MahaPariskha, the past government has ruined the lives and dreams of several thousand aspirants,” Patole said in the house. 

Patole’s statement is particularly serious as between 2017 and 2019, the MahaPariksha portal was to decide the fate of 38.5 lakh aspirants who had applied for 30,000 vacancies across 25 departments in the state. Like Vyapam, in Maharashtra too several candidates have alleged that the MahaIT department had colluded with the private companies – UST Global and Arceus Infotech Private Limited – hired to carry out the exams in the state. 

The Wire’s report had exposed the well-oiled scam machinery in the recruitment process for Class ‘C’ and Class ‘D’ posts in various departments in 2019. The exams were conducted by the MahaPariksha Portal, which is handled by the Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Limited or ‘MahaIT’ and oversees the recruitment for several state government posts. 

In May last year, Ahmednagar district collector Rahul Dwivedi had written a damning 12-page report exposing the discrepancies in exams conducted in his district. In Ahmednagar district, at least 14 shortlisted candidates were found to be dubious. Dwivedi had found out that several dummy candidates were planted. Digging deeper, The Wire’s investigation revealed that the fraud was not restricted to Ahmednagar alone but was a widespread scam, plaguing all 34 districts where these state recruitment exams were conducted. From propping up dummy candidates to a mismatch in photographs and signatures, to candidates using spy cameras and microphones while entering the exam hall, The Wire’s probe found myriad methods of fraud.

Also read: The Wire Impact: Maharashtra Government To Probe Recruitment Scam

The two companies – UST Global and Arceus Infotech Private Limited – have come under the radar now, along with Kaustubh Dhavse, MahaIT’s former nominee director. Dhavse, a close confidante of Fadnavis, was also his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) and had resigned from his post as a director of MahaIT in December last year, soon after the BJP government in the state fell.

Kaustubh Dhavse (right). Photo: Twitter/@kdhavse

Dhavse was solely responsible for decisions in the department. He had worked with HP, Frost & Sullivan and other companies till Fadnavis pulled him into government in 2014.

Dhavse was given the status of a joint secretary (he was an officer on special duty to the chief minister and is now chief policy advisor to Fadnavis, who is the leader of the opposition) and was also put in charge of the party “war room”.

Following The Wire’s report, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat had announced that his office would carry out a preliminary inquiry into the allegations. Nationalist Congress Party MLA Rohit Pawar too had sought immediate action. But the government’s zeal to intervene soon died and eventually no action was initiated.

On March 5, following similar reports in media, the issue was back in focus. 

These exams are part of the administrative services governed by the Ministry of General Administration (GAD).

In addition to other portfolios, Fadnavis had handled the GAD and had directly monitored the MahaBharti (mega recruitment) drive in the state. This portfolio is now with the present chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray. Well-placed sources in the Chief Minister’s Office have shared that the chief minister has decided to personally look into the scam now. 

Also read: Exclusive: Audit Found Glaring Discrepancies in Maharashtra Recruitment Exams Under Fadnavis

Besides the collector’s report, a private audit firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), first engaged in 2018, had found that both UST Global and Arceus Infotech Private Limited had failed on almost all counts during the “process” and “technical” review. The audit was carried out for the exams conducted in 2017 for 15 different government departments and with over 10 lakh aspirants applying. It showed that the two companies were not only technically incompetent but had also compromised on the processes, making the exams a complete sham.

Under the process review, the PwC audit had considered 43 different aspects, all of which were marked under the “high risk” category. Processes or gaps requiring “urgent action” were categorised as high risk, and any delay in rectifying it, the PwC report stated, would lead to “significant financial impacts”.

Similarly, of the 14 aspects evaluated under the technical process, 10 fell under the “high-risk category”. Three others were categorised as “medium risk” and only one as “low risk”. Application and network security too were evaluated in this audit and the MahaPariksha portal fared poorly under most parameters. 

Vyapam Scam: Whistleblower Claims ‘Unlawful’ Detention; HC Issues Notice to Madhya Pradesh Govt

Justice S. A. Dharmadhikari of the high court’s Gwalior bench on Tuesday gave four weeks to the state government and other respondents to reply to a writ petition filed by the scam whistle-blower, Ashish Chaturvedi.

Gwalior: The Madhya Pradesh high court has issued a notice to the state government on a petition of a whistle-blower of the multi-crore Vyapam admission and recruitment scam, after he alleged that he was unlawfully detained for 18 hours in connection with the case in 2018.

Justice S. A. Dharmadhikari of the high court’s Gwalior bench on Tuesday gave four weeks to the state government and other respondents to reply to a writ petition filed by the scam whistle-blower, Ashish Chaturvedi, seeking compensation.

On August 9, 2018, police produced Chaturvedi (29) in a special court here following a warrant issued against him for not deposing in the Vyapam case, Chaturvedi’s advocate D.P. Singh told PTI on Thursday.

Chaturvedi did not record his statement at that time, saying he was the complainant in the case.

He had told the court he would depose only after the investigation into the case is over, Singh said.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 200 on him, saying if he fails to pay it, he should be sent in judicial custody for 15 days, Chaturvedi’s lawyer said.

“On August 9, 2018, Chaturvedi deposited the fine before the close of the court’s working at 4.30 pm and hence, the court ordered that Chaturvedi be let off,” he said.

Even after the court’s direction, Chaturvedi was sent to jail, where some of the accused in the Vyapam scam are also lodged, he alleged.

He walked out of the jail the next day after “18 hours”, Singh said.

In his petition filed in the high court, Chaturvedi has said the “unlawful” detention has tarnished his unblemished character and career.

“My client is seeking a heavy compensation,” Singh said.

The scam refers to irregularities in exams held by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, also called Vyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal or Vyapam, for admission in professional courses and state services.

Multiple criminal cases related to the scam have been filed in different parts of the state. Initially, a special task force of the state police had conducted an investigation into the scam.

In 2016, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a probe into the scam

(PTI)

The Wire Impact: Maharashtra Government To Probe Recruitment Scam

While the state’s revenue minister has said that the government would conduct a preliminary probe into the allegations, first reported by The Wire, MLA Rohit Pawar has demanded an SIT probe.

Mumbai: Days after The Wire published an investigative report detailing the discrepancies and instances of fraud in the Maharashtra government’s recruitment drive during the tenure of Devendra Fadnavis, the present Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has indicated that it would conduct a probe into the allegations.

While the state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat has said that the government would soon conduct a preliminary probe into the allegations, Nationalist Congress Party legislator Rohit Pawar has demanded that the government should dig deeper and instead set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.

The Wire, on October 25, had published an investigative report about a well-oiled scam in the recruitment process for Class ‘C’ and Class ‘D’ posts in various departments in 2019. The Wire spoke to several candidates in the process of investigating allegations of rampant exam fraud. The exams were conducted by the MahaPariksha Portal, which is handled by the Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Limited or ‘MahaIT’ and is oversees the recruitment for several state government posts.

Also Read: Exclusive: Under Fadnavis’s Watch, a Vyapam-Like Scam Flourished in Maharashtra

In May, this year, Ahmednagar district collector Rahul Dwivedi had written a damning 12-page report exposing the discrepancies in exams conducted in his district. In Ahmednagar district, at least 14 shortlisted candidates were found to be dubious.

Several candidates have levelled allegations of rampant exam fraud in Maharashtra. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Not just in one district

When The Wire dug deeper, the investigation revealed that the fraud was not restricted to Ahmednagar alone but was a widespread scam, plaguing all 34 districts where these state recruitment exams were conducted. From propping up dummy candidates to a mismatch in photographs and signatures, to candidates using spy cameras and microphones while entering the exam hall, The Wire’s probe found myriad methods of fraud.

Two companies – UST Global and Arceus Infotech Private Limited – have come under the radar now, along with Kaustubh Dhavse, MahaIT’s former nominee director. Dhavse, a close confidante of Fadnavis, was also his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) and had resigned from his post as a director of MahaIT in December last year, soon after the BJP government in the state fell.

Evidence uncovered during the investigation indicates that the magnitude and the extent of this scam could be similar to that seen at the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, more commonly known as the Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal or Vyapam scam.

Responding to the story, Pawar said that the issue is not just a financial concern but also an emotional one. “It actually pertains to the future of 35 lakh people in Maharashtra. The earlier government has caused a serious dent to the aspirations of lakhs of youngsters of Maharashtra,” Pawar told The Wire. In the past year, Pawar has consistently raised the issue, both in the Vidhan Sabha and on his social media platforms.

Besides discrepancies in the process, Pawar has also spoken about the lack of a normalisation process while conducting competitive exams. Through this process, values measured on different scales are adjusted to a notionally common scale. Exams are conducted in different shifts and their difficulty may also vary. The normalisation process would allow the performance of the candidates to be evaluated on the basis of similar parameters. Pawar has over the past few months met several student delegates too.

NCP MLA Rohit Pawar. Photo: Twitter/@RRPspeaks

Delayed action

Though the Ahmednagar collector had sent his report in May, the government had not acted upon Dwivedi’s complaint. Additional chief secretary Nitin Kareer told The Wire that immediately after receiving Dwivedi’s report about discrepancies in the examination process in his district, he had informed the IT department.

“The collector had informed us about his specific suspicion against 14 candidates. We had suggested that he drop those candidates and choose revenue officials from the remaining candidates, but the collector said he had doubts about several more. We had accordingly informed the IT department,” Kareer said.

IT secretary Vikas Chandra Rastogi told The Wire that he was in the know of Dwivedi’s report.

Sources have confirmed that at least six other district collectors made similar notings and had informed both the revenue and MahaIT departments. However, they were pressured into completing the recruitment process. If the revenue department had acted upon the complaints immediately, it could have ensured a probe into the matter before the recruitment process was completed. Over and above these red flags, the department, according to government officials, has received as many as 563 complaints.

Government documents also indicate that UST Global was fined Rs 48 lakh in 2018 and Rs 52 lakh in 2019 for not fully complying with the clauses included in its tender.

A screengrab from the MahaPariksha portal.

Unique dilemma

The current government, however, is now faced with a unique dilemma of what it should do with the several thousand posts that have already been filled up. “Most selected candidates have already joined their positions. While some of them might have got through dubious means, the government will also have to be cognizant of many who worked hard to bag those positions. It is proving to be an administrative mess now,” a senior bureaucrat told The Wire.

Pawar, however, says given that details of the scam are now in the public domain and there is damning evidence to hold individual officials accountable, the government should go beyond just one district and look into the role of the entire MahaIT department and conduct a probe into several projects that were undertaken during Fadnavis’s tenure. The issue is likely to be discussed in the cabinet meeting this week and a decision to probe it will most likely be taken, a government source confirmed.

Dwivedi was moved out of his post as collector of Ahmednagar earlier this month and at the time The Wire’s investigation was published, he was not given any new posting. On Tuesday, he was given posted as the project director of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan in Mumbai.

Even as the MahaPariksha portal continues to be mired in controversy, the IT department has decided to scrap the entire online examination process and introduce an Optical Mark Recognition or OMR process in the state to conduct future exams. A source in the IT department confirmed that the process has reached the final leg and should be finalised in a few days. “The bid was closed only a few days ago. We had to revise the tender process twice after receiving pre-tender suggestions from different interested parties. Several reputed companies have participated in the bidding process,” an official shared.

What Explains the Appointment of Mohan Markam as Congress’s Chief in Chhattisgarh?

The party appears to worried about its tribal vote bank slipping away – as it has observed in Odisha and Jharkhand.

On May 23, Rahul Gandhi offered to resign as Congress president. Subsequently, all notifications issued by K.C. Venugopal, general secretary (administration), were in the name of All India Congress Committee (AICC).

However, on June 28, more than a month after Rahul first made the offer and a day after Vivek Tankha caused a domino effect of resignations, Mohan Markam was appointed the president of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), replacing the sitting chief minister Bhupesh Baghel who had held the dual charge.

This time, the letter was issued in the name of AICC president.

Can a Congress president who has sent in his resignation appoint a state unit president? How is the president’s resignation accepted and by whom? Does the resignation of Congress president entail that the organisation’s general secretary becomes the temporary head till fresh elections take place – and if that is the case, then can he issue appointment letters in the name of AICC or party president?

These questions can only be answered by the Congress Working Committee. If someone were to approach the Election Commission or challenge Markam’s appointment in court, it could then result in a closer examination of the Congress constitution.

Markam’s appointment, however, also raises questions of a deep political nature. While most observers interpreted Markam’s letter as a sign that Rahul might continue as the party president despite his insistence on resignation, less than a week later, he made his resignation letter public by tweeting its entire content. In it, he lamented that he had had to fight the 2019 general elections on his own steam and that not many within the Congress had come forward to support him, especially the senior leaders. He was also despondent that no one had taken responsibility and chosen to resign like him.

Also read: How Vivek Tankha, a Little-Known Congressman, Set Off a Domino Effect of Resignations

Neither had Baghel sent in his resignation and nor was Rahul attending office, so what was the urgency in appointing Markam? And why was Markam chosen for the post? Why is he important? Equally significantly, Chhattisgarh is the only Congress-ruled state where has Rahul approved a cabinet expansion through the swearing in of Amarjeet Bhagat on June 29 itself.

There are no easy answers, but it appears Congress is now worried about its tribal vote bank slipping away – as it has observed in Odisha and Jharkhand. It thus wants tribal PCC presidents in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Also, Bastar has completely slipped out of Congress’s hands, at least that’s what the Lok Sabha results showed. Congress had won 11 out of 12 assembly seats in Bastar in December 2018, but it managed to win by a narrow margin only one out of the two Lok Sabha seats six months later.

Markam, 51, was a shiksha karmi in Bastar and later became an insurance agent when Chhattisgarh came into existence in 2000. Around 6-7 years later, he met Ajit Jogi, who, impressed with his ability to take up public causes, drafted him into Congress. He was later twice elected as an MLA from Kondagaon. At present, he is a sitting MLA. This still does not explain his elevation to PCC president.

Amarjeet Bhaga, a four-time MLA from Surguja, and Manoj Mandavi, a three-time MLA from Bastar, had both been ignored for a cabinet berth by Baghel.

Also read: Rahul’s Exit is a Historic Opportunity for the Congress, and its Members

While Delhi was witnessing the resignation drama, a sub-plot seems to have been playing out in Chhattisgarh. Baghel’s rival claimant for the chief ministerial post, T.S. Singh Deo, did not want Amarjeet Bhagat – who represents Sitapur in Surguja as PCC president – after initially having blocked his entry into the cabinet in December. Baghel had cleverly kept a spot vacant for Bhagat. So before push came to shove, Baghel took in Bhagat and opted for low-profile Markam over Mandavi.

So, was it Baghel who was able to convince Rahul to make this one last appointment? It must have been, because Baghel was in-charge of the Lok Sabha campaign and its costs in Amethi and UP while Rahul campaigned all over the country and in Wayanad. He did not want to risk someone else taking over as Congress president and wanted to make changes according to his will. Baghel was helped in this endeavours by P.L. Punia.

What they failed to do, however, was to get a list of chairmen for various boards and corporations in time. This will soon lead to acrimony between various factions.

Markam has declared that his first priority is to win the two seats in Bastar that are to go to polls, and then prepare for the forthcoming municipal and panchayat elections at the end of the year. He has also declared that he will be leading agitations against the Central government. What all issues will be covered still isn’t certain. Meanwhile, he has an able challenger in fellow Bastariya Vikram Usendi, who heads the BJP state unit.

How Vivek Tankha, a Little-Known Congressman, Set Off a Domino Effect of Resignations

Over the years, the former additional solicitor general of India and advocate general of Madhya Pradesh has emerged as a reliable legal luminary-turned-politician.

After facing a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the BJP in the 2019 general election, Rahul Gandhi offered to resign as Congress president on May 23.

But over a month later, no one followed suit barring a few here and there in Uttar Pradesh.

Three days later, the Gandhi scion had also blamed Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath for promoting their sons at the cost of the party.

Finally, on June 27, Vivek Tankha resigned as head of the legal and RTI cell of the All India Congress Committee.

This launched a domino effect of resignations.

Tankha may seem like an odd choice to have kickstarted said resignations considering lawyers Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and P. Chidambaram have been around for far longer.

But over the past couple of years, the Gandhis have come to rely on Tankha equally for their court cases.

Over the years, the former additional solicitor general of India and advocate general of Madhya Pradesh has emerged as a reliable legal luminary-turned-politician. He was generally known as an advisor to leaders from his home state – cutting across party lines till he unsuccessfully contested the 2012 Rajya Sabha elections as an independent backed by the Congress.

Back then, it was thought that chief minister Shivraj Singh, whom he considered a friend, could have lent his support to Tankha during in the election. He didn’t and Tankha fell short by two votes as the third candidate.

Also read: Rahul Says He’s No Longer Congress President, Takes Responsibility for 2019 Loss

The defeat may have hardened Tankha’s resolve to align his ship with the Congress where he held the trust of Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Digvijay Singh and the rest. Despite having been Digvijay Singh’s advocate general, he managed cultivated an image of neutrality through his social work and legal demeanour.

But after 2015, the Gandhis had more reasons to be in touch with him. A soft-spoken Kashmiri Pandit with impeccable manners, he impressed the family as someone who could be trusted. But his own reticence in hogging limelight has kept his public profile under par so far.

After losing the 2012 Rajya Sabha polls, Tankha was persuaded to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha from Jabalpur, which he lost to Rakesh Singh as the Modi wave swept the country.

But the loss did not harm his image. In his home town, Tankha and his family are respected for reasons other than politics. His father late, R.K. Tankha, was a high court judge and his father-in law, late Colonel Ajay Narain Mushran, was the finance minister for ten years in Digvijay’s cabinet.

When Vivek Tankha started his legal career in 1979, he decided to plough his own furrow which over years has included immense amount of social work in education for children with special needs and free health camps for the blind as also free blood banks in at least four major district hospitals in MP. He has used his legal and rotary networks to keep his passion for social work properly funded.

As advocate general, he had made an impact on the Supreme Court. On suggestions from senior lawyers and judges, he decided to shift base to Delhi after 2004. His political connections also meant he got involved in the power circuit in the capital, which eventually led to his nomination as Rajya Sabha member from MP in 2016. But before that, he was an additional advocate general during the UPA II regime, handling matters relating to Reliance and the telecom sector amongst others.

What may brought him close to Sonia Gandhi was his single minded determination to pursue the Vyapam cases against the Shivraj government in the Supreme Court at a time when both the Centre and state had BJP governments and the investigating agencies were not at their cooperative best.

Also read: Rahul Gandhi’s Insistence to Step Down as Congress President Leaves UPA Leaders Anxious

So where is this present round of resignations headed as far as Tankha is concerned? He has certainly emerged as a key figure even while keeping his focus on MP politics – as can be seen by his recent tweets on Kamal Nath.

It’s a given that Rahul may not rock the boat too much and remove Nath and Gehlot unless he has some major assignment for them. There was some talk of Gehlot becoming working president of the AICC but that appears to be on the backburner for now. Nath’s rival for the chief ministerial post, Jyotiraditya Scindia, recently lost the Lok Sabha elections from his family seat. But that has not stopped his supporters from clamouring for him to be given charge of the PCC.

It’s not an election year in MP and Scindia, despite his media image, is not an acceptable figure outside the Gwalior region. He lacks a connect with the poor and carries too much baggage of the Raj parivar.

The Congress has tried almost all caste combinations in the MP unit, but without success in building an organisation. Many believe Tankha, with his clean image and work in tribal areas like Mandla, Jabalpur and Jhabua, may be an ideal choice to rebuild the party structure.

He certainly seems to share a good equation with Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh. The only hurdle seems to be his  own willingness to dive into the hurly burly of ground level politics outside the charmed circle of an established legal practise.

Or maybe Rahul has other plans for him in Delhi.

Vyapam Whistleblowers Hope that Ghost of Scam Will Haunt BJP in MP Polls

In Madhya Pradesh, the whistleblowers of the Vyapam scam are aligning themselves with the Congress, with the hope that a new state government will make more progress.

New Delhi: As Madhya Pradesh heads into its first major election since the the Vyapam scam was unearthed, whistleblowers are hopeful that it will cast a shadow on the incumbent BJP government of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. But while they want the current government gone, they aren’t all that happy about Congress’s dalliance with some of the accused in the scam either.

Vyapam – the entrance examination, admission and recruitment scam – shocked the state and the country. Vyapam is an acronym for the state “Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal”, a set of 13 examinations, for which over three million students appear each year. The scam concerned imposters appearing as proxies for candidates, and forged answer sheets supplied by officials in exchange for bribes.

Over 2,000 people, including a state cabinet minister, MLAs and several high ranking officials, were booked or arrested in connection with the case by 2015. Early arrests were made by a Special Task Force. In July 2015, the Supreme Court handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Also read: With Elections Around the Corner, Vyapam Scam Bounces Back to the Centre in MP

Before long, however, people linked with the case – accused, witnesses, and others – started to die in mysterious circumstances. About 52 deaths have been noted. As whistleblowers began to fall, it became increasingly clear that deadly machinations were at work.

Whistle-blowers tweet out to the electorate

Whistleblowers are now hoping that justice will arrive along with the upcoming elections. Social media has emerged as a key platform on which they can share the stories of how they’ve been affected by the Vyapam scam.

Ashish Kumar Chaturvedi, who sought to expose the scam through numerous RTI pleas, told The Wire, that he had been attacked several times and threatened in the presence of police officers. However, he remains undeterred and continues his endeavour to educate people about Vyapam through social media.

“Vyapam is a big issue among the youth, the educated, doctors and those who follow such developments,” he said. “They will evaluate and vote on these issues. But […] such educated and well-heeled people usually record a lower turnout. So the emphasis is on getting them to exercise their franchise. It would impact the election in a big way.”

‘Vyapam’ is the most searched word on the web in MP

Chaturvedi is right.  Social media and the internet are crucial, and most people have learnt about the scam online. In 2015, Vyapam’s Wikipedia page had ranked as its 19th most searched globally.

A recent analysis found that it was still the most searched term in Madhya Pradesh. There were between ten lakh and one crore searches for “Vyapam” in a month – surpassing search statistics for political personalities, caste-related issues and issues like farmer distress or corruption in the state.

‘BJP taking the corrupt along; has nexus with the mafia’

Chaturvedi, who lives in Gwalior, is clear that “the BJP is taking corrupt people along and it has a nexus with the mafia. It is with the help of this mafia that it wants to win this election”. He mentioned how the party has given a ticket to the son of its former minister, Laxmikant Sharma, an accused in the Vyapam case.

On the other hand, Chaturvedi said that even though some Congress leaders had inducted an accused MLA – Gulab Singh Kirar – into the party, Rahul Gandhi intervened to have him removed. (Chaturvedi has also FIRs filed against Kirar and his son.)

Congress also draws flak

This episode led to some embarrassment for the Congress. Kirar had been expelled by the BJP three years ago when the CBI named him and his son in an FIR. They were accused of irregularities in the entrance exam for post-graduate courses in medicine in 2011. In spite of this, on October 31, he was taken into the Congress fold in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi and top state leaders.

The Congress reversed its decision the following day. Party spokesperson Shobha Oza even denied that he had joined “officially”. However, Kirar claimed that he will continue to work for the Congress regardless.

Tickets for tainted candidates

Congress is also facing flak for giving a ticket to another Vyapam accused, MLA Phundelal Singh Marko from Pushprajgarh. Marko had defeated two-time BJP MLA Sudama Singh in 2013, despite a BJP wave at the time.

In defence of its decision, Congress state vice-president for media, Bhupendra Gupta was recently quoted as saying: “Marko was made an accused by STF but he is not an accused on the CBI list.” Even so, he added, “the case is sub judice and he can’t be judged guilty at this point of time”.

This disappointed some whistleblowers. Chaturvedi insisted that both Marko and his son were named as accused by the STF. They did not receive a clean chit even when the the CBI took over the probe in July 2015.

‘Delay in Congress’s manifesto will leave little time for Vyapam impact’

The RTI activist also wondered why the Congress had not released its manifesto yet as that would have equipped its followers with more ammunition to attack the BJP with.

“Only about a fortnight remains before the state goes to polls on November 28. So, when will people read and analyse the manifesto?” he asked. “Ordinary people may not even get to know what [Congress] has to say about Vyapam.”

Chaturvedi is also hoping that other parties, like Aam Aadmi Party, which have thus far been silent on the issue, eventually speak about it.

‘Congress should take a proper position on Vyapam’

Prashant Pandey, from Indore, had been hired as an IT consultant by the Special Task Force (STF) while investigating the scam. He is not happy, however, with the Congress walking on eggshells about discussing those accused in the scam.

Pandey also received death threats while dealing with the case. He said, “I always wanted the Congress, which had supported us, to take a proper position on Vyapam in this political scenario”.

Also read: With Anti-Incumbency in the Air, BJP Is Picking Its Candidates Carefully in MP

But with the Congress briefly inducting Kirar and then chief minister Chouhan’s brother-in-law, Sanjay Singh Masani, he wondered how much the issue would be pursued. Masani has since been fielded by the party from Waraseoni in Balaghat district.

Insisting that he was not politically motivated, Pandey said that he still wanted the Congress to field another whistleblower, Dr. Anand Rai, from Indore 5 constituency. “I wanted the Congress to give him a chance. However, his name has not been finalised.”

‘Vyapam is a big issue, it cannot be ignored’

Pandey, who moved to Delhi three years ago, said he has been in regular touch with leaders from all political parties, including Arvind Kejriwal and many other from the BJP who want the truth to be revealed.

As of now, Pandey said, while he was a little disappointed with the Congress’s approach, he and other activists were pursuing the Vyapam issue with equal zeal. “We are taking up the Vyapam issue both, on social media and in the courts as well. Once the tickets are announced, we are sure it will be taken up. It is a huge issue and cannot be ignored”.

Why Congress Should Tie up With JAYS, the Adivasi Movement in MP That Began on Facebook

A socio-political movement, Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti is creating a ripple in the districts of west Madhya Pradesh ahead of the state’s assembly elections, and has spurred the dream of creating a leadership of adivasis – for adivasis.

Dr Hiralal Alawa represents the contrarian trend among the beneficiaries of reservation who secure government jobs, join the teeming urban middle class, and sunder their links with the marginal community to which they belong. Few take the trajectory Alawa took – he chose to leave the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Science, Delhi, to return to his home village of Bheslai, in Kukshi tehsil of Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh.

Kukshi has become the epicentre of the Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti, a socio-political movement, which Alawa spearheads. Popularly known by its acronym JAYS, it began as a Facebook page that Alawa created in 2012. His was an attempt to instill self-respect and pride in tribal youths. It is evident from his explanation to affix Jai to Adivasi Yuva Shakti: “We are treated as animals, yet we do jai-jai [hail] of others. It is time we began praising ourselves.”

His pitch found an instant echo among the educated, either already beneficiaries of reservation or studying to take competitive examinations for entering professional colleges or securing government jobs. Discussions on Facebook gradually widened to include issues such as the skewed nature of development and the pressing need to build a leadership owing allegiance to adivasis than to the national parties.

JAYS acquired ample traction in social media to leap out from the virtual world to land in Madhya Pradesh’s tribal heartland. On May 16, 2013, Alawa convened a panchayat of his Facebook followers in Barwani. Over 3,000 people attended. “The consensus was that our current leaders are failing us – they are not taking up the issues of unemployment, malnutrition, the absence of educational infrastructure, or question the manipulation of our cultural identity,” Alawa recalled. 

The success at Barwani inspired Alawa to summon yet another panchayat in October in Indore. The 2013 assembly elections were a month away, and JAYS asked students staying in hostels to turn down politicians whose wont it was to offer them money to campaign for them. “These are the politicians who supply daru [alcohol], murga [chicken], and paisa (money) to adivasis to get their votes. We gave a call to make videos of these illegitimate activities,” Alawa said with a chuckle.

Five years later, JAYS is creating a ripple in the districts of west Madhya Pradesh, where adivasis account for roughly 45% of its population. For instance, adivasis comprise 87% of Jhabua’s population; in Barwani nearly 70%. No wonder its rallies have been quite a draw – for instance, the kisan panchayat it held in Kukshi on October 2 pulled in an estimated lakh of people. The support that JAYS has elicited has spurred the dream of creating a leadership of adivasis – for adivasis. It has prepared a list of 80 constituencies from where it plans to contest in the forthcoming November assembly elections.

Also read: Why Failure to Form an Alliance With BSP in MP Shouldn’t Worry Congress

Simultaneously, JAYS is in parleys with the Congress for forging an electoral alliance. It has demanded 40 seats for itself, but is willing to settle for less than one-fourth of it – and also contest these on the Congress symbol. It’s a case of tempering exuberance with reality.

JAYS will want to enter the assembly to demonstrate that its representatives are made of different mettle. Yet it hasn’t developed sinews to take on the national parties on its own. But fight it will, either as part of an electoral alliance or alone.

Dr Anand Rai, the prominent whistleblower in the Vyapam scam who has joined JAYS and is counted among its principal strategists, said, “We want to align with the Congress because we too want to fight for secularism and battle corruption, of which the Bharatiya Janata Party is guilty in Madhya Pradesh. Also, we do not have the funds required to fight elections nor are our party structures firmly in place. Yet there is tremendous pressure from our supporters to fight the Assembly elections. Our experience will train us for the future.”

But what is mere experience for JAYS could well turn out ominous for the BJP and the Congress. Political scientist APS Chauhan, of Jiwaji University, Gwalior, pointed out, “JAYS and Gondwana Ganatantra Party [another tribal outfit] are like unguided missiles – you just can’t tell which party they might hit.” Likewise, Yatindra Singh Sisodia, director, Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Science Research, Ujjain, said, “JAYS could well play a decisive role in determining who wins and who doesn’t in as many as 28 assemblies constituencies.”

JAYS has harnessed the virtual world’s tools to bring together an articulate segment among adivasis to froth and fume at the incessant exploitation by those in whom they reposed their faith and hope.

In a way then, JAYS is the adivasi version of #MeToo and last year’s Not In My Name, both of which the middle class elite in metros initiated as social media campaigns that eventually spilled out in the real world.  JAYS represents the imagination of the adivasi middle class that reservation has spawned. Like the better known social media campaigners, JAYS has harnessed the virtual world’s tools to bring together an articulate segment among adivasis to froth and fume at the incessant exploitation by those in whom they reposed their faith and hope.

Unlike #MeToo and Not In My Name campaigners, though, JAYS’ appeal is far wider because it quickly created structures to bring under its umbrella the aspiring adivasi youth wishing to become middle class. It is these students who go to their villages to explain to the elderly why they should support JAYS. There is also a cultural perspective to their rage and activism. “Education and jobs through reservation do lead to assimilation. But it can also lead to an acute awareness of threats to a group’s cultural identity and the need to preserve it,” Sisodia said.

The search for identity

Anxieties over identity are triggered through a complicated process. Born to a school teacher and anganwadi worker, Alawa experienced the stings of stigmatisation when he left home to join a high school in Susari village, where he stayed in hostel. He and other tribal children were derided for their inability to speak Hindi flawlessly. “They used to call us adibasis, not adivasis. The word adivasi means dwellers from ancient times. On the other hand, basi means stale as in basi food,” Alawa reminisced.

In 2001, Alawa shifted to Indore to join one of its coaching shops. The glitz and shine of urban India provided him a frame of reference to feel anguished at the deplorable, exploitative conditions in which his community languished in. After completing his MBBS in Rewa and MD from Gwalior, which was where he adopted the identity of Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti for his Facebook posts, Alawa shifted to Delhi, where he did three years of senior residency in AIIMS. He was contracted for a year as assistant professor in rheumatology. “Though the contract ended in December 2016, it could have been extended. But I decided to return to Madhya Pradesh.”

The decision to leave Delhi was largely because the city only deepened his anguish at the plight of his people. Alawa evoked the imagery of speed to explain the difference between the India he had come out from to reside in the India where he worked. “In Delhi, life is hellishly hectic; people don’t have time to spare. In adivasi villages, life is slow; people play cards to kill time,” Alawa said.

The slowness of life back home was symptomatic of a deeper malaise – the lack of agency advisasis have in determining the kind of existence they should have. It was to win back for his people the right to imagine their own world that Alawa began to organise panchayats far more frequently on his return to Madhya Pradesh than what he used to from distant Delhi.

One such panchayat impressed Rai to no end. Having already met Alawa after reading a media account of him, Rai decided to join JAYS, which embraced him enthusiastically because of the fame he had acquired for blowing the lid off the Vyapam scam. An OBC, Rai symbolises the attempt of JAYS to widen its adivasi base to include other subaltern groups. 

About the panchayat he first attended, Rai said, “There were speakers from outside. There were motivational speeches. The audience was explained the importance of the Fifth Schedule, the provisions of PESA or the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, the Forest Rights Act and such like. I felt JAYS could well be the vehicle for change.”

Also read: Is Congress Worried About a Rejuvenated BSP?

Alawa feels most of these Acts, designed for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes, have not been implemented or are infringed with impunity. For instance, the Fifth Schedule provides for a 20-member Tribal Advisory Council to advise the government in states having scheduled areas. Tribal MLAs are to constitute 15 of the 20 members of the Council; the remaining five from civil society representatives.

“The tendency is to appoint all 20 members from the ruling party,” said Alawa. “They agree to whatever the government wants.” The consequence is that the government imposes its own idea of development and welfare on adivasis. For instance, the Madhya Pradesh government constructed pucca houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. These remain unduly hot until late night, compelling people to sleep outside. Toilets have been built in front of dwelling units, leading to these not being used at all.

“Our idea of development is different. It does not mean having ACs and cars,” said Alawa. “Simultaneously, in the name of development, the BJP government has appropriated more land of adivasis in 15 years than what had been done in the previous decades by the Congress.”

Credit: PTI/Ravi Choudhary

Communal temperatures

A uniform development model for the entire country homogenises the diversity of lifestyles. This is compounded in tribal areas because of cultural interventions that seek to transform their very being and create the new adivasi. Imitating the strategy of Christian missionaries who are said to have brought education and healthcare to tribal areas for evangelical purposes, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has sought to Hinduise the adivasi. “We are opposed to all attempts to change our identity. Without identity, our wajud [presence] will end.”

The attempts to Hinduise adivasis is not confined to the ideational level alone. It is also through the strategy of creating conflicts between Hindus and Muslims. According to Alawa, RSS affiliates trigger communal tension and skirmishes and instigate adivasis to engage in violence. “I have been asking people what harm Muslims have done to them that they want to fight them… Our biggest foe, anyway, is the RSS.”

JAYS gets a thumbs up from Ishrat Ali, who heads the Qazi Council of Madhya Pradesh. “JAYS has re-established the idea of brotherhood in the area. This is a consequence of having an educated leadership. Alawa understands why there is an attempt to replace the flowers of many colours that comprise India’s cultural bouquet with that of one colour.”

There is a structural reason why there is a lowering of communal temperature in west Madhya Pradesh’s tribal belt. “Fact is a lot of adivasis have deserted RSS affiliates to join JAYS. At many places, RSS is unable to hold its shakhas,” Rai said.

In many ways then, JAYS is waging a battle that the Congress should have fought. That alone should be a reason for India’s grand old party to grant a handful of seats to JAYS. It is not just about notching a significant electoral victory before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but also about rallying small groups sharing ideological similarities to fight for India’s soul.

Ajaz Ashraf is a journalist based in Delhi.