Corruption in recruitment won't be tolerated: Odisha CM

Anyone indulging in corruption in the recruitment process won’t be spared. They will face severe punishments, including imprisonment and hefty fines, warned Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Friday. 

While speaking at a job fair at Lok Seva Bhawan, the Chief Minister expressed deep concerns over the lack of transparency and honesty in the recruitment exercises during the tenure of the past governments.

The Chief Minister noted that previous exams, such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and Assistant Section Officer (ASO) tests had been tainted by corruption. There was no transparency and honesty. The poor and deserving candidates were losing their faith in both government processes and God. 

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Now, the recruitment process is impartial. The government has brought the Odisha Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024 to ensure impartial recruitment processes. Now it has become a law. In the coming days, it will be implemented. It stipulates penalties, including fines of up to one crore rupees and imprisonment for up to ten years for those engaged in fraudulent activities, he said.  
During the rule of the past governments, there was corruption in the recruitment field. In any recruitment process you may pick, there was no impartiality, no transparency and no honesty. You know very well from electronic and print media reports that how people engaged in the recruitment process were showing favouritism to their near and dear ones. The poor and brilliant students were losing their faith in the government and God. But God has come forward to give you justice, he added. 

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The Chief Minister made it clear that the rule will be enforced rigorously, warning wrongdoers to be prepared to face severe consequences.

At the job fair, the Chief Minister handed over appointment letters to various healthcare and education professionals. As many as 85 homoeopathic medical officers, 239 radiographers from the Health Department, and 52 professors in the Higher Education Department were given appointment letters.