E Rakesh Reddy, the leader of BRS, said on Friday that the government has been dealt a severe blow by the High Court’s decision over the Group-I test.

He told reporters at Telangana Bhavan that the court’s ruling was a moral gain for the BRS, which had stood steadfastly with students, as well as a victory for Group-I candidates and young people without jobs. He restated that anomalies in the Group-I tests had been repeatedly pointed up by the BRS. “We received notices from the Telangana Public Service Commission, but they received notices from the HC,” Reddy said.

He wondered why there was an unexplained shift in the number of applicants who took the test. There were reportedly 21,075 applicants when the test was administered. However, the number unexpectedly increased to 21,085 when the results were revealed. How do you add 10 candidates? This demonstrates the TGPSC’s blatant carelessness. Even aliens couldn’t provide an explanation for it,” he said.

In court, Reddy challenged the government’s claims, especially those pertaining to separate test sites for women. When asked why there were two distinct facilities for women, the government attorney said that it was to avoid the possibility of covert cameras in women’s toilets. What could be a worse excuse? They even claimed that the principal had warned against letting males inside such facilities. “Why should it be different here if men and women take UPSC exams together without any problems?” he said, calling for the Group-I test to be cancelled and retaken.