The Congress on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Union government and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) over alleged irregularities in the recently declared Class 12 examination results, with senior party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh accusing the Centre of “massive manipulation,” administrative negligence, and institutional arrogance that they claimed had jeopardised the future of lakhs of students across the country.
In a strongly-worded post on social media platform X, Rahul Gandhi alleged that there had been “massive manipulation in the CBSE examination results,” leaving “lakhs of students and their parents across the country in shock.” He accused the Narendra Modi government of failing to respond to mounting concerns and demanded accountability from the authorities responsible for conducting the examinations and evaluation process.
“And Modi ji? As always — no answers, no accountability, no shame,” Gandhi wrote, escalating the Opposition’s criticism of the Centre’s handling of educational institutions and examination systems.
The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that the company entrusted with implementing the new digital evaluation process, COEMPT, had a controversial past and had previously been linked to alleged irregularities in Telangana in 2019 under its earlier name, Globarena. According to him, despite the company’s past record being allegedly known within administrative circles, it was still awarded responsibility for handling the evaluation process involving nearly 1.85 million students.
“The name changed — but the intent remained the same, the character remained the same,” Gandhi said, alleging that the issue was “not a mistake” but “a well-planned conspiracy.”
He raised a series of questions directed at the CBSE and the Union Education Ministry, asking why the contract had been awarded to COEMPT, who recommended the company, and whether due procedures and background verification norms had been bypassed during the selection process. Gandhi also questioned the nature of the relationship between the company’s management and the Modi government.
“We demand an independent judicial inquiry and the immediate formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to expose the real culprits behind this entire scam,” he said.
Addressing students directly, Gandhi sought to reassure those affected by the controversy, particularly members of Gen Z who appeared for the examinations this year. “No one will be allowed to steal your hard work or your future. We will get to the bottom of this conspiracy and uproot this corruption from its roots,” he wrote.
The Congress’s attack came amid growing political scrutiny over the CBSE’s rollout of a new on-screen marking (OSM) system for Class 12 board examinations this year. The party cited a media report claiming that members of the CBSE’s own governing body had advised the Board to first conduct pilot projects across regional offices before implementing the system nationwide, advice that was allegedly ignored.
In a separate post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the controversy reflected a broader pattern of centralised decision-making and the Union Education Ministry’s alleged refusal to consult institutions and experts before implementing major reforms.
“A report has uncovered that the CBSE ignored views from its own governing body members to hold pilot projects across regional offices before rolling out the new on-screen marking system for Class 12 board examinations this year. If it had listened, the unnecessary suffering of lakhs of students would have been prevented,” he said.
He accused the Education Ministry of functioning with “arrogance” and blamed what he described as a top-down administrative culture fostered by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, whom the Congress often refers to as “Mantri Pradhan.”
Ramesh cited several instances to support the party’s claim that educational consultation mechanisms had weakened under the present government. He alleged that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education’s recommendations regarding strengthening the National Testing Agency (NTA) had earlier been dismissed by the Education Minister because Opposition members were part of the panel.
He further claimed that the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), an apex consultative body bringing together education ministers and officials from states and the Centre, had not been convened since 2019 despite the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 calling for its strengthening.
The Congress leader also pointed to the functioning of other educational governance bodies, alleging that the Council of National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) had not met for more than six years between 2019 and 2026, while the IIM Coordination Forum mandated under the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017 met for the first time only in May 2026 despite annual meetings being required under law.
He additionally noted that the IIIT Council had not convened since 2019.
“The Mantri Pradhan’s insistence on holding on to his office and the Pradhan Mantri’s protecting him is shameful,” Ramesh said, accusing the Education Ministry of being “incompetent, arrogant, and unconcerned with student welfare.”
Calling for political accountability, he demanded the immediate resignation of the Union Education Minister.
The allegations come at a time when examination reforms, digital evaluation systems, and transparency in public testing institutions have become politically sensitive issues, especially following controversies involving national-level entrance examinations and concerns raised by students over evaluation consistency and result discrepancies.
Neither the CBSE nor the Union Education Ministry had officially responded to the Congress leaders’ allegations at the time of writing.