Sasikanth Senthil, Annamalai lock horns over number of Tamil Nadu candidates clearing civil services exam

Congress leader Sasikanth Senthil and BJP State president K. Annamalai clash over Tamil Nadu's declining success in UPSC exams.

Congress leader and Tiruvallur Lok Sabha member Sasikanth Senthil and BJP State president K. Annamalai were engaged in a war of words on social media on Sunday over reduction in the percentage of candidates from Tamil Nadu clearing Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

In a post on X, Mr. Senthil said 119 out of the total 1,126 selected candidates in CSE 2013 were from Tamil Nadu. However, in 2023, only 45 out of the total 1,016 selected candidates hailed from the State. The percentage of candidates selected from Tamil Nadu dwindled from 10.6 in 2013 to 4.4 in 2023. He blamed the BJP government at the Centre for introducing changes in syllabus and exam pattern which, according to him, made the candidates from rural areas give up their aspiration. He also criticised Mr. Annamalai for reportedly attributing the reduction in number of candidates from Tamil Nadu clearing the CSE to not knowing Hindi.

However, Mr. Annamalai rejected the allegation made against him by Mr. Senthil, and said, “The reason for reduction in the number of candidates clearing CSE from Tamil Nadu was because the DMK-Congress alliance was prioritising private schools run by them and made government schools ineffective. “

Responding to Mr. Annamalai, the Congress MP alleged that the Centre had brought changes in the CSE pattern in 2015 and made qualifying Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) compulsory. “The comprehension part of CSAT was only in English and Hindi. Many candidates who passed the General Studies paper had failed to clear CSAT, because it created an aptitude-based hurdle.”

However, Mr. Annamalai argued the real social justice lay in students from rural areas studying syllabus on a par with the private schools. He also charged the DMK government with not improving the standards of syllabus in government schools only to benefit private schools and demanded an apology from Mr. Senthil for the accusation. The argument between the former civil servants-turned-politicians continued over National Education Policy, NEET, and CUET as well.