3 min readChandigarhFeb 12, 2026 10:10 PM IST
In the past two years, the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) has recruited 2,216 candidates from unreserved categories for gazetted officer posts, and 22 per cent of them belong to states outside Haryana. A few of these candidates even hail from distant states such as Kerala, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh. As the Opposition intensifies its criticism of the BJP government in Haryana over the recruitment of many candidates from outside the state, the HPSC insists that the figures demonstrate a fair and transparent process.
Between April 1, 2024 and February 12, 2026, a total of 4,437 candidates were selected across 103 categories, including civil judges, Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers, assistant professors, senior scientific officers, district horticulture officers, ayurvedic medical officers, and veterinary surgeons. Out of the unreserved category selections, 494 candidates came from outside Haryana and Union Territories (UTs), according to the HPSC data accessed by The Indian Express. The largest numbers were from Rajasthan (107), Delhi (94), Punjab (91), Uttar Pradesh (80), Himachal Pradesh (34), Chandigarh (19), and Uttarakhand (24). Smaller numbers were selected from Bihar (8), Kerala (3), West Bengal (1), Andhra Pradesh (1), Gujarat (3), Telangana (1), Odisha (2), Jharkhand (3), and Maharashtra (7).
HPSC Secretary Mukesh Kumar Ahuja told The Indian Express: “There are no boundaries for applying for government jobs as advertised by the HPSC. As a recruitment body for the key posts of gazetted officers, we ensure a fair transparent recruitment process for all of the posts.”
The Opposition, however, has challenged the process. Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the BJP government of deliberately sidelining Haryana’s youth, claiming that 70–80 per cent of officer‑level posts are being filled by outsiders. He cited the Assistant Engineer recruitment in Haryana power utilities, where 185 of 214 general category posts went to non‑Haryana candidates — nearly 90 per cent. Surjewala argued that Haryana’s talented youth are being forced to migrate abroad for menial work while outsiders are appointed to officer positions in the state.
Congress MP Deepender Hooda echoed these concerns, saying: “Instead of functioning as a selection body, the HPSC is working as a ‘rejection commission’ for Haryana’s youth”. He said the rights of Haryana’s young people are being denied, pointing out that a protest has been ongoing outside the HPSC office in Panchkula for the past several days.
Hooda further alleged that “just as the state government is being run by remote control from Delhi, job selections are also being controlled from outside, since most selections are of non-Haryana candidates.” He announced that Youth Congress will gherao the HPSC office in Panchkula on February 17, urging youth to join in large numbers, and pledged to fight for their rights “from Parliament and Assembly to the streets.”
However, Chief Minister’s media secretary Praveen Attrey defended the process, stating that the HPSC is an autonomous body and that “since 2014, recruitment in Haryana has been carried out without nepotism or favouritism”.
