Maharashtra saw a fresh political firestorm on Wednesday after the Maharashtra Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) recruitment process for the post of Drug Inspector, Group-B, in the Food and Drug Administration Department.
Opposition parties in the state stepped up their attack against Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis, questioning what they term recurring irregularities in competitive examinations and demanding accountability over allegations of a paper leak.
Representative image
Notably, the MPSC cancelled the recruitment process after a preliminary inquiry triggered by complaints of alleged malpractice during the screening examination held on March 22, 2026.
The Commission said the decision was aimed at shielding the confidentiality, integrity, transparency and impartiality of the examination and to preserve the confidence of the candidates who took it.
Oppn trains guns on Fadnavis-led govt
Congress leader Udit Raj was among the first ones to attack the state government, claiming that a large number of exam papers had been leaked and urged students, as well as young aspirants to protest against the administration.
He said in an interaction with news agency ANI, “By now, almost 160 papers have been leaked. So, the paper leak in Maharashtra is nothing to be surprised about.”
He then advised the students and youngsters to take to the streets, stressing that protests were necessary to secure justice. Another Congress leader, Nana Patole, also held the Fadnavis government responsible and demanded that it accept accountability.
He said while addressing reporters last month, “The Devendra Fadnavis government is responsible for this. The government should accept responsibility and resign,” adding that casting a shadow on the careers of young aspirants was unacceptable.
NCP leader Pawar questions MPSC’s account
NCP(SP) leader Rohit Pawar questioned the MPSC’s explanation regarding the exam’s alleged leak, particularly its account of the number of people who had prior access to the exam paper. Pawar levelled serious allegations, saying, “Even though the commission has cancelled the paper, their explanation that the paper was only with one student is absolutely unacceptable.”
NCP(SP) leader Rohit Pawar
Further in his statements, he claimed that exam papers had allegedly been sold for as much as Rs 40 lakh, by means of an agent network operating across the state.
Pawar alleged, “According to the information we have received, the fact is that papers were sold for 40-40 lakhs through an agent racket operating across the state, and the commission is also aware of this fact.”
MNS weighs in too, questions probe, FIR
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Sandeep Deshpande also raised questions over the absence of an FIR in the case.
Deshpande referred to the Union Government’s stated position on curbing exam paper leaks and questioned why a case had not been registered despite allegations that the Drug Inspector examination paper was available to someone before the test.
MNS leader Deshpande
He asked, “Now, when there is a paper leak in Maharashtra involving the MPSC Drug Inspector examination, and the police investigation has accepted that there was a leak, with someone reportedly receiving the question paper two days before the examination, my question is: when you have accepted that there was a paper leak and that the paper was in someone's possession before the exam, why has an FIR not been registered?”
He then questioned why the state government had not pushed for an in-depth probe into the allegations.