RDPR dept jobs 'scam': Kumaraswamy wants Priyank Kharge to resign

Mounting pressure on Home Minister Priyank Kharge to resign, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy released documents on Wednesday to show that the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) had asked the rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) department to withhold the appointment of ‘tainted’ candidates as assistant executive engineers (AEEs).Addressing a news conference, Kumaraswamy demanded Priyank’s resignation, as he was the RDPR minister in 2024, when the appointment orders were issued to 24 AEEs, which included 10 ‘tainted’ candidates.The union minister clarified that he was not alluding to Priyank’s involvement in the irregularities, but was demanding his resignation on moral grounds.“I saw the home minister’s statement, challenging me to prove his role in the irregularities. I am not saying he was involved, but I am demanding his resignation because he was the minister for RDPR when the appointment orders were issued. He must resign taking moral responsibility,” the former chief minister said.Kumaraswamy demands resignation of Priyank Kharge for alleged lapses in RDPR appointmentsHe released two key documents. One, a letter from then KPSC secretary to RDPR secretary, asking to withhold the appointments of 24 AEEs, citing the internal inquiry ordered by the commission and the other one, of the department of personnel and administrative reforms (DPAR) granting permission to KPSC to go ahead with the inquiry.Kumaraswamy said, “Even when the commission informed the department not to proceed with appointments, what was the hurry to issue orders? Has this happened without the knowledge of the minister concerned? Conducting the exam and preparing the selection list is KPSC’s responsibility, but issuing appointment orders is the department’s responsibility”.He questioned the conditional appointment orders being issued, despite a KPSC sub-committee reportedly finding irregularities in the recruitment process, besides forensic reports being submitted.“Why did the department not order an internal inquiry based on the committee’s findings?,” the union minister said.Raising questions over the delay in providing information to the high court regarding the case, he said, “Why has the court case on the matter dragged on for the last 1.5 years. Even the court wanted a CBI inquiry to be conducted. But for the last 1.5 years, the government has not given written statements to the court”.

Source: Deccan Herald