Sambhaji Brigade Smears Ink On MPSC Secretary’s Face
The Sambhaji Brigade has described this move as a symbolic protest against a corrupt system.
Mumbai: Students’ ongoing protests over the paper leak and irregularities in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission examinations further intensified with the activists from the Sambhaji Brigade smearing black ink on MPSC secretary Mahendra Harpalkar's face in Navi Mumbai on Friday.
A video of the incident has gone viral, in which activists from the Sambhaji Brigade are seen smearing black ink on the face of Harpalkar in Navi Mumbai.
The Sambhaji Brigade has described this move as a symbolic protest against a corrupt system. The organization also alleged that neither the government nor the commission is treating the issues faced by MPSC aspirants with the seriousness they deserve.
Santosh Shinde, the Sambhaji Brigade spokesperson, stated that his organisation had previously staged protests outside District Collector offices across the state on August 3 regarding the MPSC Drug Inspector exam paper leak and had issued a warning to the government at that time. However, the government is thick-skinned and needs to be spoken to in the language it understands, he added.
Shinde demanded the immediate resignation of the MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar and secretary Harpalkar. The organization has warned that if they do not step down immediately, the next phase of the agitation will be directed against the MPSC Chairman. “What the Sambhaji Brigade did today is just a trailer; the Chairman is next,” he said.
The MPSC Chairman, the Secretary and their corruption-riddled team have effectively decided to ruin the lives of the youth. This action is a reaction to the situation where young people are driven to suicide and question papers are being leaked while the government remains blind and deaf, Shinde added.
Last month, the MPSC had cancelled the recruitment process for Drug Inspector, Group-B posts in the Food and Drug Administration Department after a preliminary police inquiry found that the question paper had allegedly been leaked before the screening examination.
However, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who had been raising the issue since the allegations of paper leak were first surfaced, did not support the Sambhaji Brigade’s action. “The MPSC Chairman and Secretary have certainly jeopardized students’ futures through paper leaks and corruption and there is no doubt that the students hold very strong feelings about this. However, we are opposing this through constitutional means and will continue to do so. The Constitution given by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar possesses the necessary strength, so we will certainly succeed. The constitutional path is the right path... we absolutely do not support throwing ink at anyone,” stated Pawar.
Candidates have launched a statewide protest demanding the resignation of MPSC Chairman, citing the leaking of question papers for various recruitment exams conducted by the Commission over the past two years. On Thursday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met with representatives of MPSC candidates to discuss their various demands. After meeting them, the CM announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would probe the 2025 State Public Service Commission (MPSC) Group B and Group C preliminary and main examinations.
