The INDIA bloc win 234 seats, the issue of paper leaks featured frequently in the election speeches of prominent Opposition faces — including Rahul, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, among other INDIA leaders — as a way to reach out to the youth.Student requirement repeat this exam.So decision pending in supreme court.
The Congress, in its manifesto, had promised fast-track courts to adjudicate cases related to question paper leaks and provide monetary compensation to victims.
The Congress-led Opposition has made its intent clear soon after the poll results — that it will not let the government rest, vowing that it would be a “fierce challenger” on issues of national importance. At a press conference in Delhi two days ago, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeatedly attacked the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over their alleged failures to stop paper leaks. Rahul made it clear that the Modi government will face “intense scrutiny“ of the Opposition on various public issues.
The BJP, too, used the paper leaks issue to attack the Opposition. During his campaign in Rajasthan, Modi claimed that the previous Congress government in the state was “itself involved in paper leaks” and had “betrayed the country’s youth.
The most recent leak was in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, when the UP Police constable recruitment exam question paper was allegedly leaked and circulated on social media on the day of the exam. A total of 48 lakh candidates had registered to fill 60,244 constable positions. The state government ordered a retest but the date has not been announced yet.
The SP, which won its highest ever seats in UP at 37, and the Congress claimed that the paper leaks issue impacted the elections. The Opposition’s campaign on paper leaks was said to have resonated with the youth as it is directly linked to the issue of unemployment – an issue being linked to the BJP’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls, which saw the party come down from 303 seats in 2019 to 240 seats this time.
The Opposition leaders have not only raised the paper leaks issue, but also used it to target the BJP and PM Modi. The Congress has been aggressive over it. Other Opposition parties — including the SP, ShivSena (UBT), DMK, TMC, NCP (SP), CPI(M), CPI and AAP — have also raked it up in unison, demanding that the NEET-UG exam must also be scrapped and strict action taken against those responsible.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier maintained that there was no paper leak in the NEET-UG exam 2024, in a fist admission of “irregularities” in the conduct of this exam, Pradhan on Thursday acknowledged that there have been “some errors limited to specific regions”, referring to Bihar’s investigation into allegations of paper leak, and announced the setting up of a high-level committee to review the National Testing Agency (NTA)’s structure and functioning.