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Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Social media debate over UPSC rank holder Poorva Chaudhary allegedly misusing OBC quota
Clearing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam is no small feat in India. It is one of the country's most competitive exam with a selection rate of just around 0.2 per cent. Among the 1,009 candidates who cleared the exam this year was Poorva Choudhary, who went viral on social media after she shared that she had cleared the exam. While her comment section was flooded with praises and congratulations initially, the sentiment soon shifted with people accusing her of misusing the OBC reservation quota. Choudhary, who secured 533 rank, found herself embroiled in a huge controversy in social media in the last few days after people online found out that she used OBC-NCL (Other Backward Classes - Non-Creamy Layer) quota and accused her of misusing it, given her lifestyle. Chaudhary's father works in Rajasthan Administrative Services, according to a report by India Today. People online pointed this out and accused Chaudhary of using quota to clear UPSC while not being eligible for it. 'Poorva Choudhary a recent UPSC qualifier having a bag worth ₹4 lakhs along with a premium lifestyle which includes international trips. Her father is an ADM. Still she used OBC-NCL certificate to qualify the exam. Another day another scam in UPSC,' read a post on X (formerly Twitter). 'Poorva Chaudhary is also seen using OBC reservation while her Insta account shows a lavish lifestyle. Is the reservation system justice to socially backward or become a success ladder for 'privileged' backwards?' said another user on X. Chaudhary, whose sister posted a congratulations post for her which went viral and garnered millions of views in a matter of days, has now deleted or disabled her Instagram account. 'Sibling goals? One cracked the most difficult exam in our other's writing this caption!!!' her sister had captioned the post. After the controversy forced Poorva Choudhary to shut down her social media, her father, Omprakash Saharan, has spoken out in his daughter's support and has rebutted the rumours. Saharan, who is posted as Additional District Collector in Kotputli in Rajasthan, told India Today that people did not understand the rules. 'In the case of direct RAS recruitment before the age of 40, the OBC NCL benefit does not apply. I became an RAS officer at 44. So, the claim that my daughter misused the certificate is completely untrue,' India Today quoted him as saying. He added that a similar rule applies to appointments or promotions in Class I government jobs, meaning that if a person is appointed to be promoted to Class I government jobs, their children become ineligible for OBC NCL quota. However, that is not the case with him, Saharan said.
India Today
04-05-2025
- General
- India Today
Did UPSC rank holder Poorva Choudhary misuse OBC quota? Father reacts to viral claims
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2024 rank-holder Poorva Choudhary's father has responded to allegations made by several social media users over her use of the Other Backward Class (OBC) Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) who secured AIR 533 in the examination, has found herself at the receiving end of the internet, with users alleging she availed of the OBC NCL quota without being eligible for the claims, her father, Omprakash Saharan, a Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) officer currently posted as Additional District Collector in Kotputli, said people simply did not understand how the rules worked. 'In the case of direct RAS recruitment before the age of 40, the OBC NCL benefit does not apply. I became an RAS officer at 44. So, the claim that my daughter misused the certificate is completely untrue,' he told India added that the same rule applies to promotions or appointments in Class I roles; if done before 40, the child becomes ineligible for OBC NCL. 'That's not my case,' he out how quickly misinformation spreads online, he said, 'People follow herd mentality. UPSC is a trending topic right now, and many use it to gain views and followers.'advertisementHe went a step further and claimed that certain social media groups, particularly in Delhi, were behind such narratives. 'There's a lobby that thrives on this. We've done nothing wrong,' he told India backlash began after Poorva's sister, Navya Saharan, posted a video on Instagram celebrating the result. The reel, featuring pictures of Poorva, including one outside the UPSC building, was captioned: 'Cleared UPSC while serving this face card.' The clip soon went a look at the viral post here: But the tone shifted when users noticed 'OBC NCL' listed on the official results. Speculation followed as users started questioning her eligibility, considering the fact that her father is an a section of the internet did point out that her father was promoted to RAS, a Group A post, at the age of 45, which technically keeps Poorva within the eligibility window for OBC-NCL per government norms, children of Group A officers promoted after the age of 40 are still eligible for reservation benefits, provided the family's income (excluding agricultural income) does not exceed Rs 8 lakh the debate online appears less about legality and more about who earlier posted about her result, saying the moment was 'sealed with sabr and shukrana,' has now deactivated or disabled her Instagram users claim the now-deleted posts from Poorva's profile suggested a lavish lifestyle, which sparked more questions around Poorva, a resident of Bolawali village in Rajasthan's Hanumangarh district, has her maternal home in Bhadra and is related to the region's current MLA, Sanjeev isn't the first time the OBC NCL debate has made headlines. In 2023, IAS officer Pooja Khedkar (AIR 841) faced similar allegations of misusing the OBC category. Her father's election affidavit reportedly listed assets worth Rs 40 crore and an annual income of Rs 43 lakh, well above the permissible limit.(With inputs from Gulam Nabi)
