Dhumal criticises government on CPMT issue

Shimla, Aug 21: Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister P K Dhumal today launched a scathing attack on the state government on the Common Pre-medical Test (CPMT), leading to heated exchanges between Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and him.

Immediately after the question hour, Karam Dev Dharmani (BJP) demanded a discussion on the CPMT issue, which was turned down by Speaker G R Musafir who ruled that the adjournment motion could not be admitted since he had already allowed discussion under Rule No 130 given by Harsh Vardhan (Cong) and Mr Dhumal (BJP).

Participating in the debate, Mr Dhumal said had the Vice Chancellor acted on reports of leakage of the CPMT paper on time, the state government would have been saved of the embarrassment.

He said the HP University Vice Chancellor did nothing even after Shimla MLA Harbhajan Singh Bhajji (Cong) had informed him of the paper leak.

Only after the parents of the aggrieved students called on the Chief Minister he agreed for an enquiry into the matter, he said, adding that even the one-man enquiry committee, appointed by the University, had given a clean chit to it.

Criticising the University authorities for going ahead with the test even after it had been informed of the paper leak, he said the authorities should have changed the paper.

The Assembly witnessed heated exchanges between the Chief Minister and Mr Dhumal after he held the Chief Minister responsible for the mess in the University.

Intervening in the debate, Mr Singh asked the former chief minister to prove his charges following which both members from both sides raised slogans against each other. Lauding the state police for their impartial inquiry into the matter, which proved irregularities in the test, he asked how a few parents knew the result even before it had been declared.

Mr Dhumal alleged that some of the students involved in the leak even threatened the parents of the aggrieved students who were agitating the paper leak.

The fact that a few students who had qualified the test and had not fared well in the qualifying examination were placed very high in the CPMT merit list, giving credence to the reports that the paper had been leaked.

Initiating the discussion, Mr Vardhan (Cong) said that it was unfortunate that the paper was leaked that had given a bad name to the University.

The discussion remained inconclusive as the house was adjourned after the lunch after paying homage to Bismillah Khan.

The Chief Minister would reply to the discussion tomorrow.

UNI