Congress MP Manickam Tagore writes to PM Modi, alleges discrepancies in appointment process in CMS exam

New Delhi: Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged discrepancies in the appointment process regarding the results of the Combined Medical Services Examination 2024, conducted by the UPSC.
In his letter, Tagore highlighted discrepancies, particularly in Category-1 Medical Officers of the Central Health Service (General Duty Sub-Cadre).
The exam was conducted on July 14 (Part 1), followed by the personality test (Part 2), which took place from September to November this year.
"According to the press release issued by the Press Information Bureau on November 14, 163 vacancies were announced for Category-1 with no vacancies allocated for OBC candidates. However, the final recommendation list includes 22 OBC candidates. Along with two additional candidates, exceeding the available vacancies. These appointments are reportedly being adjusted against future OBC vacancies, as per DoPT guidelines," Manickam Tagore said.
The Congress MP pointed out that this situation raises critical questions including "Lack of Transparency in Vacancy Announcements."
"How can recommendations for OBC candidates be made when no vacancies were publicly announced for this category? Such a practice undermines the principles of transparency and accountability in the recruitment process. The absence of announced OBC vacancies and subsequent adjustments to future vacancies disrupts the reservation framework and discriminates against the OBC community," he said in his letter.
Manickam Tagore continued to allege that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) appears to have framed its own rules to adjust appointments without considering the implications for OBC candidates.
The Congress MP further requested the Prime Minister to constitute an investigation committee to examine the irregularities in this recruitment process, particularly the omission of OBC vacancies in the advertisement and the subsequent adjustments.
"Direct the investigation committee to submit a detailed report to the OBC Parliamentary Committee, outlining the findings, including the role of the DoPT in framing and implementing rules that appear discriminatory against the OBC community. Identify and take necessary action against those responsible in the DoPT and other authorities involved in these decisions, ensuring accountability for practices that discriminate against the OBC community," he said.
He emphasized that the protection of the constitutional rights of all communities, including OBCs is a cornerstone of our democracy.
"As an elected representative, I urge the government to act swiftly and decisively to address these irregularities and ensure that the Principles of justice and equity are upheld," Manickam Tagore said.