Now Reading: Naidu alleges plumbers evaluated Group-1 exams, Jagan demands CBI probe
-
01
Naidu alleges plumbers evaluated Group-1 exams, Jagan demands CBI probe
Naidu alleges plumbers evaluated Group-1 exams, Jagan demands CBI probe
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has alleged massive irregularities in the APPSC Group-1 examinations held under the previous YSRCP government, claiming that answer scripts were evaluated by plumbers, electricians, security guards and drivers. Speaking in the Assembly on 19 August 2026, he cited Central Forensic Science Laboratory findings showing alterations in 718 of 734 answer scripts, or 97.82% of those examined. He said 25 evaluators were completely unauthorised in the first digital round, and all 66 evaluators in a subsequent round were also unauthorised.
Former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has challenged Naidu to order a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities, and simultaneously into the 2025 teachers' recruitment by district selection committees. Jagan said the entire Group-1 process was transparent, conducted under CCTV surveillance with bar-coding, and gave no scope for evaluators to know candidates. He accused Naidu of jeopardising the future of 163 candidates who were selected. The High Court has already constituted a three-member committee headed by a retired judge to inquire into the matter.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Telangana Today and India Today both carry Naidu's allegations as the lead, plumbers, electricians, and CFSL findings, framing the YSRCP era as a breakdown of institutional integrity. Neither outlet scrutinises Naidu's evidence or questions whether his claims are selective or politically timed. Hindustan Times shifts the frame entirely: it leads with Jagan's counter-challenge, a CBI probe, and gives equal space to Jagan's claim that the process was transparent, done under CCTV and by bar code. Naidu's vivid accusation of unauthorised evaluators is reported but placed second, not first. The measured read: both sides are playing politics. Naidu's forensic details are specific and testable, Jagan's CCTV-and-bar-code defence is also specific and testable. The real news is not the rhetoric but the High Court committee already constituted, its findings will settle which version holds. Watch for that committee's report, not the Assembly speeches.
Coverage: 3 sources, 1 pro-government, 1 government-critical, 1 sensationalist
Sources (3): telanganatoday.com (sensationalist), indiatoday.in (pro government), hindustantimes.com (government critical)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
