Prateek Tanmay
3 min readPatnaJun 19, 2026 09:18 PM IST
Amid the row over a Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination question based on a social media post by Union minister Giriraj Singh, the Commission has barred the question setter from future assignments and said it could not have filtered the controversial question because of the “secrecy rules” surrounding question papers.
The controversy pertains to Question No. 100 in the General Studies paper of the BPSC stenographer recruitment examination held on June 11.
The question was: “Who wrote on X in March 2026: ‘Respectful salutations to Maa Katyayani! With the blessings of the Goddess, who is the embodiment of divinity and valour, all her devotees are endowed with immense strength and self-confidence’?” The answer options were: (A) Narendra Modi, (B) Yogi Adityanath, (C) Giriraj Singh, (D) None of the above, and (E) Not attempted.
The correct answer was Giriraj Singh.
‘Reflects poorly on BPSC’
The question drew criticism from Opposition parties and even from within the ruling alliance. JD(U) leader and former minister Maheshwar Hazari flagged the question on social media on June 17.
RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta and Congress leader Asit Nath Tiwari also objected to the inclusion of the question. “There has to be a mechanism to filter out such questions,” Mehta said. Tiwari said, “Such questions reflect poorly on the state service commission.”
The BJP declined to comment, saying the party had no role in matters relating to examination papers.
‘Utmost secrecy’
BPSC secretary Satya Prakash Sharma told The Indian Express, “We maintain utmost secrecy regarding the preparation and publication of question papers to avoid any possibility of a paper leak. We have identified the question setter concerned and barred him from setting questions for us in the future. His honorarium has also been withheld.”
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Asked whether the Commission had a moderation mechanism in place, Sharma said, “While some state public service commissions have a formal moderation system, we do not. However, there is a system of confidential moderation, but the moderator could not spot this.”
He added, “While we will continue to maintain the secrecy of our examination papers, we will ensure that empanelled question setters refrain from including such questions. Confidential moderators will have a more important role in filtering out controversial questions.”
According to the Commission, 1,113 candidates appeared for the examination against nine vacancies. A total of 3,024 candidates had applied.
