Congress Targets BJP Over Alleged Exam Paper Leaks, Demands Accountability.
Shimla:
Senior Congress leader Bambar Thakur on Monday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Central Government, alleging that repeated examination paper leaks had exposed serious flaws in the country’s recruitment and examination system and put the future of millions of students at risk.
Addressing a press conference in Mandi, Thakur claimed that examination papers had been leaked as many as 93 times since 2014. He alleged that recurring irregularities had eroded public confidence in competitive examinations and recruitment processes across the country. Referring specifically to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), he claimed that paper leak incidents had surfaced in multiple years, including 2016, 2021, 2024 and 2026.
Thakur said repeated controversies surrounding examinations had left students frustrated and uncertain about their future. According to him, many aspirants had suffered mental stress and anxiety due to the alleged failures in maintaining the integrity of recruitment and entrance tests. He accused the government of responding inadequately to the issue and lacking transparency in its handling of such cases.
The Congress leader also criticised Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, holding him politically responsible for the alleged lapses in preventing examination leaks. He questioned why strict action had not been taken promptly against those involved and demanded thorough investigations and immediate arrests of all accused persons.
Announcing a statewide campaign, Thakur said Congress workers would launch an awareness drive across districts, mandals, panchayats, colleges and universities to highlight what he termed the government’s failure to safeguard the examination system. He said the party would continue raising the issue among students and youth.
Listing examinations that allegedly witnessed irregularities, Thakur referred to railway recruitment tests, engineering entrance examinations, foreign medical graduate examinations, police recruitment tests and teacher eligibility examinations conducted in different states. He argued that repeated incidents had weakened faith in the fairness of public recruitment.
District Congress president Champa Thakur also targeted the Central Government over the NEET paper leak issue and demanded the resignation of the Union Education Minister. She said the Congress would intensify its campaign to hold the government accountable and ensure transparency, fairness and accountability in examinations and recruitment processes across the country.
