Stepping up the Opposition’s attack on the Centre over the NEET paper leak controversy, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged that India’s education system had been “rigged”, leaving millions of students from poor and middle-class families at a disadvantage.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters, Gandhi claimed that repeated examination paper leaks had severely damaged public trust in the education system and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“At least 152 paper leaks have happened in the past 10 years. About 7.5 crore students and families have been affected because of this, but there has not been a single conviction,” Gandhi said.
He alleged that the country’s education system was “in tatters” and accused the government of failing to ensure accountability for repeated lapses.
Backing the students protesting in the national capital, Gandhi said their agitation was justified and accused the government of responding with force instead of addressing their concerns.
“Their demands are completely legitimate,” he said.
Sharpening his criticism of the Education Minister, Gandhi described Dharmendra Pradhan as “corrupt and incompetent” and said he should step down.
“India’s biggest asset – its education system – is being destroyed under his watch,” he remarked.
The Congress leader also outlined three key demands. First, he called for Pradhan to be removed from office, citing what he described as his “ineptness and incompetency”. Second, he sought accountability and punishment for those responsible for irregularities in the NEET examinations. Third, he demanded an apology from the “top person” whom he said was responsible for the entire episode, in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gandhi further alleged that the present system unfairly favoured the privileged while depriving deserving candidates of equal opportunities.
He said students spend years preparing for competitive examinations and families invest lakhs of rupees in their education, only for many to be denied a fair chance because of repeated irregularities.
According to Gandhi, the continued paper leaks have undermined the aspirations of millions of students and raised serious questions about the credibility of the country’s examination system.
(With agencies’ inputs)
