Is Bihar Governor a 'mere puppet'? question in BPSC Mains triggers row

Patna, July 15: The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) was on Monday left red-faced as reports surfaced of a question asking candidates to elucidate whether they thought that the Governor of Bihar was a "mere puppet", in one of its question papers.

An embarrassed BPSC promptly issued a release expressing regret over the "inappropriate manner in which a question was asked about a constitutional office" and declared that the person who had set the paper has been "issued a show cause and blacklisted for future".

'Critically examine the role of Governor in state politics in India, particularly in Bihar. Is he a mere puppet?' - read the question in Paper II of General Studies in Civil Services (Mains).

The examination was held on Sunday. The bilingual paper used the Hindi word 'kathputili' in the question framed in that language - a term often used by the opposition to criticize the actions of a person holding the gubernatorial position, the appointment to which is always made by the Centre.

Lalji Tandon is the current Governor of Bihar.