Bhubaneswar: Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the cancellation of yet another recruitment exam in Odisha. This marks the fourth such exam to be scrapped in the state since July 2025.
The latest exam to be cancelled is the Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE) 2024, which was intended to recruit Sub-Inspectors for the state police. The Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB) announced the cancellation due to unforeseen developments.
Reacting to the OPRB’s announcement, Patnaik took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and said he was “shocked” by the repeated failures in the recruitment process. He added that this ongoing pattern of exam cancellations is causing distress to lakhs of job seekers in the state.
“These repeated disruptions highlight a troubling pattern in Odisha’s recruitment system, undermining trust and affecting lakhs of job seekers across the state. All of these point towards a systemic failure of governance, which the BJP-led Odisha government needs to address immediately to restore the trust of the people,” Patnaik said in his post.
He further noted that this marks the fourth recruitment examination scrapped since July 2025 amid allegations of malpractice and question paper leaks:
- July 20, 2025: The Special OTET-2025 was cancelled just hours before commencement after a paper leak triggered widespread outrage.
- July 30–31, 2025: The OSSSC cancelled its Combined Recruitment Examination (for RI, ARI, Amin, ICDS Supervisor, SFS), scheduled between August 1 and September 4, citing irregularities in the preliminary process.
- August 22, 2025: The rescheduled Special OTET-2025 was postponed again, with the Board of Secondary Education citing “unavoidable circumstances,” leaving aspirants frustrated.
