Bharti reinstated as HSSC chief

Pradeep Sharma

Tribue News Service

Chandigarh, July 17

Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) chairman BB Bharti, who was suspended after a row over an objectionable question pertaining to Brahmins in an examination conducted by the board two months ago, was reinstated by the state government on Tuesday.

Bharti, a close confidant of CM Manohar Lal Khattar, was reinstated following a clean chit by the Justice Darshan Singh inquiry panel.

Bharti was suspended following statewide protests by Brahmins over a question in the Junior Engineer (JE) examination conducted on April 10, 2017. The question was: “Which one among the following is not a bad omen in Haryana — seeing an empty pot, a casket, a black Brahmin or a Brahmin girl?”

After representatives of some Brahmin organisations, led by Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, met CM Khattar, Bharti was suspended on May 17.

Bharti has been in the thick of controversies over the past few months. During the Assembly session in March, the Opposition had demanded his sacking on the basis of an audio clip in which Pehowa MC chairman Ashok Singla was purportedly heard telling former minister Balbir Saini that he had paid Bharti’s son Rs 45 lakh for a job.

In April, the Opposition again sought his removal when the CM’s flying squad unearthed a “cash-for-job” scam at HSSC headquarters in Panchkula. The Opposition said the scam could not have been possible without senior functionaries’ “connivance”.

Clean chit paved way

• Justice Darshan Singh Commission gives clean chit to BB Bharti in connection with a row over an objectionable question on Brahmins in JE examination
• He was suspended on May 17 after Brahmin organisations met CM