Karnataka Minister Priyanka Kharge accused BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav of dining with the family of accused in Police Sub Inspector (PSI) scam case and seeking their support to win the Lok Sabha elections. Further, he alleged that the move made it evident that the scam was orchestrated by BJP.
Citing the case, Karnataka minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge said, "BJP candidate (from Kalaburagi Lok Sabha seat) Umesh Jadhav has gone and dined with the main PSI accused family. He sought their support to win this election. So now it has become very evident that the entire PSI scam was orchestrated by the BJP, for the BJP..."
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The PSI recruitment examinations took place across seven centers in October 2021. The scandal emerged after Veeresh H, one of the selected candidates, scored 121 marks despite only answering questions worth 31.5 marks out of a total of 150 in the objective section.
The cheating was facilitated at an examination center (school) in Kalaburagi, resulting in the owner's arrest. This incident sparked political upheaval in Karnataka, prompting the then BJP government to transfer the case to the CID for investigation.
Following the CID's report of widespread manipulation, the Karnataka government invalidated the exam results on April 29, 2022. Nine out of the top 10 rank winners in the PSI exam were also arrested by the CID for allegedly securing their selection illegally by bribing officials of the police recruitment cell, according to a report on Indian Express.