Congress workers staged a large-scale protest in Patna on Saturday, demanding the dismissal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The protesters alleged that the Centre had remained indifferent to paper leaks and irregularities in NEET-UG and other recruitment examinations.
Addressing the demonstrators, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee President Jairam Ramesh said that 89 examination papers had been leaked during the past 12 years under the BJP-led NDA government. He further claimed that the NEET-UG examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), had witnessed paper leaks on four occasions, raising serious questions about the fairness and integrity of the country’s examination system.
Ram alleged that the BJP-led Central Government had created a corrupt system in which only children from wealthy families would be able to secure medical seats and jobs, while students from poor families continued to suffer despite their hard work and aspirations.
He further claimed that the education system under the NDA government had collapsed and said the Congress party had consistently taken to the streets to safeguard students’ interests and secure their future.
Urging the government to ensure transparency in competitive examinations, Ram called for greater seriousness in the conduct of the examination scheduled for June 21 as well as future recruitment and entrance tests.
Raising the issue of alleged irregularities in CBSE examinations, he claimed that meritorious students were being adversely affected by flaws in the evaluation and result-publication process. He further alleged that students who had highlighted these irregularities were facing pressure, while systemic shortcomings remained unaddressed.
Leader of the Congress Legislative Council Party, Dr. Madan Mohan Jha, alleged that the NDA government at the Centre had weakened the education system over the past 12 years. He criticised Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for neither resigning on moral grounds nor expressing sympathy for the 2.2 million students allegedly affected by the irregularities.
Jha said the minister’s alleged indifference reflected the Centre’s approach towards educational administration and questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not sought his resignation.