CM Adityanath tells recruitment boards to avoid making undignified remarks on any community

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued directions to all recruitment boards on Sunday, March 15, 2026, asking them to refrain from making dishonorable remarks regarding the honor or religious sentiments of any individual, caste, creed or community, the state government said in a statement.

“The Prime Minister has issued instructions to the chairmen of all recruitment boards: Refrain from making dishonorable statements regarding the honor or religious feelings of any individual, caste, creed or community. Keeping this in mind, similar instructions should also be issued to all paper preparers.”

Mr. Adityanath directed that habitual offenders should be blacklisted immediately.

As per Mr. Adityanath’s instructions, this issue should also be made a part of the memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the paper preparers, the statement said.

The directives issued by CM Adityanath are, “Who changes according to opportunity?” It gains importance because it comes one day after the question. – The question asked in the Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment test triggered a controversy as one of the options listed in the written document was “pandit”, leading to objections from leaders within the ruling BJP.

In the question appearing in the Hindi section of the written examination held on March 14 for the recruitment of assistant inspectors, candidates were asked to choose a one-word answer for the person, depending on the opportunity.

The issue triggered a political debate after Uttar Pradesh BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra wrote to Chief Minister Adityanath and demanded action against those responsible for framing the issue, saying the inclusion of ‘pandit’ among the options hurts the sentiments of the Brahmin community.

“The correct meaning of one who changes according to opportunities is ‘opportunist’, but the inclusion of ‘pandit’ among the options hurts the sentiments of a particular community,” Mishra said. Mishra said, adding that the term “pandit” is associated with knowledge and religious respect.

The controversy emerged a few days after Opposition parties accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of being “anti-Brahmin” following the alleged mistreatment of Swami Avimukteshwaran and Saraswati during the Magh Mela in Prayagraj.

In this context, the recent debate on the exam question has the potential to turn into a larger political debate, especially since the objection comes from the leaders of the ruling party itself.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB) has ordered an investigation into the matter.

In a post published late Saturday night (March 14), UPPRPB said it had ordered an investigation into the specific question circulating on social media.

The board said the question pertained to the first written exam held on March 14 for recruitment to assistant inspector (civilian police) and equivalent positions.

The board said it followed a strict protocol to ensure confidentiality and integrity of question papers before the exam.

“The board has established an extremely rigorous protocol to ensure that the integrity of the question papers remains completely intact before the exams. To maintain this security protocol, no board level officer or employee is given access to the question paper material,” he said.

According to the board, for the first time, sealed packages containing question papers are opened in the exam halls in the presence of two hall staff before being distributed to the candidates.