ASO result row: OPSC chairman clears air on allegations levelled by aspirants

With the controversy surrounding the Assistant Section Officer (ASO) recruitment examination conducted by Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) getting murkier with each passing day, the OPSC Chairman Satyajit Mohanty on Tuesday cleared the air on it by terming the allegations levelled by aspirants as false and baseless.

OPSC chairman Satyajit Mohanty held a press meet and said, “OPSC follows a fair and transparent policy in the selection of candidates. Rickshaw puller’s daughter, a newspaper hawker’s son and daily labourer’s son had cracked ASO examination with flying colours. Had there been irregularities, these students would not have cleared the examinations. They did not have any reach.”

He further added: “Hard work is the only medium to achieve success. Instead of doing that, the aspirants created a disinformation campaign and made the news viral which has no authenticity. This is not acceptable. We condemn it. I can assure students that necessary steps will be taken if they would find any kind of discrepancy after their results are out.”

He went to add: “We will follow High Court’s directive and publish the marks of all the candidates who appeared in the examination once the final results are declared. Merit is the only criteria. OPSC has been following it.”  

A few days back, the ASO aspirants knocked the door of the Orissa High Court alleging irregularities in the selection process of the ASO examination conducted by OPSC. They even alleged that each post has been sold off for Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh.

However, the High Court refused to intervene in the matter and ordered the government recruiting body to publish the marks of all the candidates who appeared in the examination.