Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) President T.A. Narayana Gowda has strongly condemned the injustice faced by Kannada-medium students in the KAS (Karnataka Administrative Service) examination controversy. Expressing his outrage, he has written a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, L.K. Atheeq.
In the letter, Narayana Gowda has accused Atheeq of misleading Chief Minister Siddaramaiah by not providing accurate information regarding the irregularities in the re-examination. He has directly posed ten questions to the senior official and stated that if satisfactory answers are given, the protests will be withdrawn. However, if the responses are unsatisfactory, the agitation will intensify.
What’s in the Letter?
Respected Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, L.K. Atheeq,
Greetings.
The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike has been continuously fighting against the injustice done to Kannada-medium students in the preliminary re-examination for the 384 Gazetted Probationary posts held in December. The government should have rectified this injustice by now, but students believe that you have been an obstacle to this correction from the beginning.
Last time, due to major errors in the Kannada question papers, the entire examination was canceled. Despite this, you are supporting the examination controller, who was responsible for these errors. It is believed that you have ensured their continuation in the same position. Furthermore, allegations have surfaced that you misled Chief Minister Siddaramaiah by not providing him with accurate details regarding the errors in the re-examination.
Initially, I did not believe these claims. However, after observing recent developments, I now think there might be some truth to them. Even your social media posts have fueled these concerns.
I am aware that you are a senior officer in the Karnataka government and one of the Chief Minister’s most trusted officials. I also understand that you have been retained as the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister even after retirement. However, do you really want to retire with this stain on your career?
Therefore, I am presenting you with ten direct questions. Since you are active on social media, I expect honest answers from you. If you are willing to discuss this matter face-to-face, I can arrange a meeting with a few students who appeared for the exam. You may decide the time and place. However, please do not ignore these questions.
If you provide satisfactory answers to all these questions, we will call off our protest. Otherwise, we will intensify our agitation.
My Questions:
- In the re-examination, Kannada-medium Question Paper 1 had 45 errors, while Question Paper 2 had 35 errors, totaling 80 errors. Can there be any greater irresponsibility than this? I have complete details on where these 80 errors occurred and how the questions should have been framed in Kannada. You must be aware of this by now. How were students supposed to answer correctly with so many mistakes? Do you acknowledge these errors? If not, are you willing to present the question papers before Kannada language experts for their analysis?
- You stated yesterday that even English-medium students are Kannadigas and that conducting another re-exam would be unfair to them. Let me clarify a few things:
- Neither I nor the protesting students are against English-medium candidates. Had there been 80 errors in the English question papers, we would have fought for them as well. However, the English question papers had no such errors.
- In the preliminary exam, both English and Kannada-medium students cleared the test. Many of these Kannada-medium qualifiers have joined our protest. Even some English-medium candidates, who believe in fairness, have joined us. Therefore, your arguments about fairness are irrelevant.
- Even after clearing the KAS exam, whether they are from English or Kannada-medium backgrounds, candidates must work in Kannada since it is the official language of Karnataka. This is common knowledge. Despite this, why does KPSC (Karnataka Public Service Commission) prepare question papers in English and then translate them poorly into Kannada? After facing translation issues in the previous exam, we had already urged the government to prepare the questions in Kannada first and then translate them into English. Yet, why was the same mistake repeated in the re-exam? Who is responsible for this? Why this disrespect and neglect toward Kannada?
- KPSC officials have stated that if there were errors in the Kannada question paper, candidates should have referred to the English paper. How is this fair? If English was easier for them, they would have studied in English-medium and written the exam in English. Why would they opt for Kannada-medium? Isn’t this statement itself cruel and unjust? If this was the approach, then why have a Kannada question paper at all? Why didn’t KPSC just give the paper in English alone?
- KPSC has decided to grant Kannada-medium students five grace marks to compensate for the errors. How is this fair? There were 80 errors, many of which were so severe that students could not even attempt the questions. Thousands of students left these questions unanswered because they could not understand them. How can 5 marks compensate for this? Who suggested this ridiculous solution?
- Looking at the repeated errors, it appears that KPSC officials have a deliberate bias against Kannada, Kannada-medium students, and Kannada identity. The fact that there were more errors in the re-exam than in the previous one suggests that this is not accidental. Why does KPSC not want Kannada-medium students to pass in large numbers? Is this connected to corruption within KPSC?
- KPSC and you have claimed that the number of Kannada-medium students who cleared the preliminary exam increased by 5%. How does this justify the errors in the question paper? If the errors had not occurred, wouldn’t the pass percentage have increased by 20% or even 30%? Furthermore, how did KPSC officials know the number of Kannada-medium qualifiers before the main exam application process (DAF submission) even began?
- There are reports that the government is unwilling to cancel the re-exam and issue a new notification because it would damage KPSC and the government’s reputation. However, failing to act will tarnish the government even more. If corrective measures are not taken, this government will be labeled as betraying over 70,000 Kannada students. As a senior official, wasn’t it your duty to provide the Chief Minister with accurate information? Why are you defending KPSC instead of ensuring justice for the affected students?
- You have extensive experience in government service. Given this, why can’t you openly acknowledge what is right and wrong? There are allegations that you are protecting the KPSC examination controller who has repeatedly made errors. Is this true? If so, why are you defending someone who is biased against Kannada?
- Lastly, there are serious allegations that you have been misleading the Chief Minister regarding the errors in the KPSC re-exam. How do you justify this? If these allegations are false, why haven’t you informed the Chief Minister about the massive blunders in the question papers? Instead, why are you repeating the baseless justifications provided by KPSC?
I look forward to your immediate response.
– T.A. Narayana Gowda