A day after the state was rocked by the suicide of a 24-year-old MPSC aspirant, Swapnil Lonkar, in Hadapsar, Pune as the final interview segment had not taken place due to the pandemic, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on the first day of two-day monsoon session announced that posts for which the MPSC exams were completed will be filled up on a priority basis by July 31. He also assured the state assembly that the government will take due care so that such incidents do not take place in future.
He said the government will sympathetically consider providing financial assistance to the deceased family.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Pravin Darekar on Monday expressed concern over the suicide of an MPSC aspirant and sought the state government's stand over the issue of pending public service commission exams and appointments of eligible candidates in
Earlier, leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis had urged the government to keep aside the entire business of the house and discuss the suicide committed by Swapnil. He said although MPSC enjoys autonomy it does not mean it can function arbitrarily. He demanded a total review of MPSC working and make changes soon.
BJP legislator Sudhir Mungantiwar criticized the state government for not filling up the members of the MPSC. He demanded the government should pay assistance of Rs 50 lakh immediately to the deceased family.
A civil engineering diploma holder, Swapnil Lonkar had cleared the 2019 Maharashtra Public Service Commission preliminary and main exams and was waiting for the final interview. Police have registered a case of accidental death.
In a suicide note, Swapnil wrote, “MPSC, sab maya jaal hai. Iske jhaanse mei na pado. Aane waale dino mei umr aur bojh badhta jaa raha hi.” (MPSC is an illusion. Do not fall for it. As I get older, the burden is increasing.) “My confidence is fading and self-growth rising. It has been two years since I passed the prelims exam. A mountain-sized debt has accumulated which cannot be erased by doing a private job. If there was no Covid, all the exams would have happened on time. Life would have been different,” he wrote in the note. “I have had negative thoughts for some time now but I was holding on to the hope that something good would happen. It doesn’t seem likely now. No one is responsible for my suicide, it is my own decision. Forgive me,” his note said.
