The resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union Education Minister has triggered fresh political attacks on the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, with the BJP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanding the resignation of Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains over a series of alleged paper leaks and recruitment examination controversies.
Punjab Congress MPs Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Dr Amar Singh and Sher Singh Ghubaya staged a protest in Parliament, alleging that six major paper leak incidents over the last four years had affected nearly five lakh students and job aspirants in the state. They accused the AAP government of failing to safeguard the future of Punjab’s youth and demanded the Chief Minister’s resignation.
The BJP said Pradhan’s resignation had set a benchmark for political accountability and questioned why similar responsibility had not been accepted in Punjab despite repeated examination controversies.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Pradhan had demonstrated “the highest standards of accountability and morality” by stepping down, while alleging that six to seven paper leak incidents had occurred in Punjab without any minister accepting responsibility. Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu also demanded Harjot Singh Bains’ resignation, alleging that examination papers had been leaked and sold while students continued to suffer.
The Shiromani Akali Dal also joined the attack, saying repeated paper leaks had severely damaged the credibility of Punjab’s recruitment and examination system.
According to the opposition parties, Punjab has witnessed a series of examination controversies in recent years, including the Pharmacy Officer recruitment examination, the PSSSB Group-B recruitment examination, the Excise Inspector recruitment examination, the Punjab Public Service Commission’s Naib Tehsildar recruitment examination and multiple Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) examinations. They alleged that these incidents exposed systemic weaknesses in examination security, poor management and inadequate monitoring.
The opposition further alleged that despite repeated complaints by students regarding paper leaks, recruitment irregularities, lack of security arrangements and delayed investigations, the AAP government had failed to restore confidence in the examination system. They claimed the government had largely responded through public statements instead of implementing structural reforms to prevent recurring incidents.
Referring to the recent Pharmacy Officer recruitment examination, the opposition alleged that an interstate cheating racket was busted after candidates used pen cameras to transmit question papers via WhatsApp, while answers were allegedly relayed via concealed Bluetooth devices. Police arrested 35 persons in connection with the case.
They also cited allegations surrounding the PSSSB Group-B recruitment examination, where an unusually high number of top-ranked candidates belonged to a single district, prompting a Vigilance Bureau investigation.
The Excise Inspector recruitment examination also came under criticism after candidates alleged that question paper packets had already been opened before the examination, besides raising concerns over distant examination centres, admit card errors and inadequate security arrangements.
Similarly, the opposition referred to the PPSC Naib Tehsildar recruitment examination, where investigators allegedly unearthed an organised cheating racket involving Bluetooth devices, and to previous PSEB board examination paper leak controversies, including the cancellation of a Class XII examination after question papers surfaced before the test.
Drawing a comparison with the Centre, the BJP said the Narendra Modi government enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, providing for stringent punishment ranging from five to ten years’ imprisonment and fines of up to ₹10 crore for paper leak offences. The party also highlighted measures such as biometric verification, AI-based surveillance, computer-based testing, CBI investigations in major cases and the constitution of a high-level reform committee to strengthen examination security.
In contrast, the BJP alleged that the Punjab government had neither enacted a dedicated anti-paper leak law nor introduced comprehensive reforms despite repeated controversies. It also questioned why safeguards such as CCTV surveillance, jammers and stronger monitoring mechanisms were allegedly not implemented in vulnerable examinations.
The opposition further alleged that while the AAP had promised a “Sikhya Kranti” and a transparent education system before coming to power, repeated examination controversies had undermined those claims.
Demanding accountability, the BJP and SAD said the Punjab government should disclose how many paper-leak investigations had been completed, how many officials had been held accountable, and what structural reforms had been implemented to prevent future incidents.
Maintaining that repeated paper leaks, recruitment irregularities and examination mismanagement reflected a serious breakdown in the state’s examination system, the opposition said Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains should accept moral responsibility and resign.