Chautala: Hounded

Chandigarh, May 26: Just days after the Lok Sabha poll rout in Haryana, chief minister Om Prakash Chautala has been dealt another blow with the CBI today raiding 24 places across the state in connection with irregularities in teacher recruitment.

The houses of key Chataula aides — political adviser Sher Singh Badshami and former deputy principal secretary Vidya Dhar — were raided and incriminating documents seized. The homes of alleged middlemen Mahender Khanna and Ajay Pal were also raided. Raids were also conducted at the Haryana directorate of primary education office here and district primary education offices all over the state.

The Chautala government is alleged to have replaced over 3,200 junior basic training teachers selected after examinations and interviews with his own list of candidates.

The Supreme Court ordered the CBI to probe the scam after Sanjeev Kumar, former director, primary education petitioned the court in November last year, saying the chief minister had threatened him with “dire consequences” if he did not “substitute” the list of those selected with the one he had supplied.

The matter dates back to November 1999, when the state advertised over 3,200 primary teachers’ vacancies, to be filled up through 19 district level selection committees. The Haryana Staff Selection Commission had been dissolved by the Chautala government when it came to power in July that year after the Bansi Lal regime fell.

It was then decided to recruit teachers on the basis of recommendations made by three-member district-level committees, headed by the respective district primary education officers.

The then director, primary education, Ram Pal Chander, received the selection list in January 2000. But the appointments could not be made because of Assembly elections that Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal won.

Chander was transferred and replaced by Rajni Sekhri Sibal, who in turn was replaced by Kumar, an IAS officer. Sources say Sibal was shunted out because she refused to execute a second list of appointees given to her by the state government.

Resisting political pressure to substitute the first list with the second one, Kumar had the original list – kept by Sibal in a sealed cover in a sealed almirah – videotaped and photographed on November 7, 2000. He proceeded to appoint candidates who figured on the original list. Less than a month later, Kumar was transferred; he has not been paid his salary for the last four years.

The Chautala government then began a departmental inquiry against Kumar, who had accused the regime of disregarding the recommendations of the state’s teacher selection board. But the apex court stayed the inquiry and ordered that the petitioner be provided police protection.

The Supreme Court has said: “Unemployed persons belonging to the lower strata of society are taken for granted and job opportunities, instead of being made available according to merit and with equal opportunity to all, are being sought to be distributed by adopting questionable methods and that cannot obviously be without hidden considerations or underhand dealings.”