Examiner who set question on bad omens debarred: CM

After a row erupted over a question on bad omens in a recruitment examination held by Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) , Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said today the examiner who set the question paper had been debarred from all future assignments.

The HSSC has also withdrawn the question, he said.

Khattar said the question asked in the written examination was not appropriate.

Speaking to reporters, Khattar said he would talk to representatives of the Brahmin community tomorrow on the issue. Members of the Brahmin community have held protests state over the issue.

Khattar said the HSSC chairperson had informed him that the examiner had been debarred by the Commission . Apart from this, the controversial question has also been withdrawn, the chief minister said.

In an examination for aspiring junior engineers held on April 10, one of the questions asked was - which one among the following is not a bad omen in Haryana. The options for the answer were: seeing an empty pot, a casket, a black Brahmin, a Brahmin girl.

Opposition Congress and INLD had slammed the Khattar government over the issue.

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said, "this is not an ordinary mistake, this is something unpardonable. They have not only insulted the Brahmin community, but they are also promoting superstition."