Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday, 20 August challenged incumbent Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into both the alleged irregularities in the DSC 2025 teacher recruitment examination and the APPSC Group I examination, asserting that his party had nothing to fear from scrutiny of either process.

The Challenge and Its Context

Addressing a press conference in Amaravati, Jagan Mohan Reddy stated that the YSRCP was fully prepared for a CBI probe into the APPSC Group I examination conducted during its tenure, and demanded that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led coalition government subject the DSC 2025 process to identical scrutiny. He argued that the ruling coalition had deliberately amplified the Group I controversy to deflect attention from what he called a far more serious DSC scam.

'We have brought in reforms in the exam system and the allegation of tampering with the marks does not arise and it is done only to underplay the seriousness of DSC scam from leakage to appointments which deserve CBI enquiry and the resignation of Education Minister. Increase the scope of the CBI enquiry and bring the Group I exams under its purview as well,' Jagan Mohan Reddy said.

Key Allegations Against DSC 2025

Jagan Mohan Reddy laid out a detailed account of what he described as systemic failures in the DSC process. He alleged that the setting of the question paper and the conduct of the examination were entrusted to the same institution — a decision he said created conditions for corruption and paper leakage. He cited the case of an outsourcing employee named Naveen, who allegedly accessed the question paper and topped the merit list, only to have his name removed in a revised list after the matter became public; Naveen subsequently moved court contesting the deletion, according to Jagan Mohan Reddy.

On the sports quota, he alleged that the government issued two Government Orders (GOs) exempting certain job aspirants from writing the DSC examination, and after the favoured candidates were absorbed, issued two more GOs reversing the earlier ones. He claimed 372 people secured jobs through this route, none of whom had competed in international tournaments, while a gold medallist in Archery at the National Games was denied appointment. 'There are audio clippings which went viral on the job trading but no action was taken,' he said, calling for the resignation of Education Minister Nara Lokesh.

YSRCP's Defence of the Group I Examination

Jagan Mohan Reddy rejected allegations that the APPSC 2018 Group I examination was tainted, asserting it was conducted in accordance with court directives. He noted that the preliminary examinations had actually been held when Chandrababu Naidu was Chief Minister, and that the YSRCP government had only conducted the final examinations for candidates who had already cleared the preliminary round. He added that evaluation was carried out under CCTV surveillance in APPSC offices and educational institutions, using a jumbling method with barcodes to prevent evaluators from identifying candidates. He warned that the political controversy over the Group I examination had placed the careers of 163 high-ranking officials in jeopardy.

Assembly Boycott and Political Backdrop

The press conference comes amid a broader political standoff in the state legislature. The YSRCP has been boycotting the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly over the coalition government's refusal to recognise its leader as the official Leader of Opposition, though the party continues to participate in the proceedings of the Legislative Council. Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that while Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh acknowledged irregularities in the DSC process on the floor of the Assembly, they did not permit the subject to be raised in the Council.

What Comes Next

The TDP-led coalition government has not yet formally responded to the CBI probe challenge as of Thursday. The demand puts pressure on the Naidu administration to either accept a parallel inquiry into DSC 2025 or risk the perception that it is shielding the process from independent scrutiny. Whether the Centre agrees to expand the CBI's mandate to cover both examinations will be the key development to watch in the coming days.