It is extremely disturbing that the Bommai government is legitimising the cash-for-jobs scam that had rocked Karnataka in 2011 when, too, the BJP was in power. The government has got a Bill passed in the Assembly to annul the order of the Karnataka High Court that had scrapped the recruitment of 362 KAS probationers due to the large-scale corruption and irregularities in their appointment. The Karnataka Civil Services (Validation of Selection and Appointment of 2011 batch Gazetted Probationers Bill) also seeks to nullify decisions taken by the previous government to bring the culprits to book. The fact that the government is going out of its way to protect probationers, many of whom are under a cloud, as well as the officers behind this fraud, at the cost of meritorious candidates who lost out in the bargain, is despicable and highly suspicious as to the motives behind it. In 2013, the then Siddaramaiah government had ordered a CID inquiry into the scam after Opposition leader H D Kumaraswamy drew the attention of the Assembly to a racket where touts were engaged by some members of Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) to strike a deal with aspiring candidates. One of the many meritorious candidates who lost out was Mythri, an MD in Paediatrics who had topped in the ST category but was denied the post of Assistant Commissioner after being given low marks in the interview. Kumaraswamy had alleged that she was refused the post because she had failed to pay a Rs 70-lakh bribe sought by the touts. While the CID found most of the charges to be true, the High Court had quashed the tainted appointments.
While not all the candidates of 2011 may have indulged in malpractice, the entire selection and appointment process was vitiated and was not above board. On the face of it, the Bill that has been passed now amounts to willful disobedience and overturning of the court’s orders. Surprisingly, Kumaraswamy, who had originally exposed the scam, did a U-turn and welcomed this legislation, which allows the accused candidates and officers to go scot-free while punishing honest aspirants who have been deceived. The sympathy of the government should be with the victims of the scam, not with the perpetrators.
A Bill passed to cover up a scam cannot but be of doubtful legitimacy. The government should prosecute the guilty, give justice to the victims, and take steps to completely overhaul KPSC, which has been reduced to a den of corruption. Only men and women of the highest integrity, credibility and merit should be appointed to KPSC.