Former chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation marks a victory for the struggle waged by the country's youth and students.
“Had Pradhan accepted moral responsibility and resigned at the very beginning, innocent students would neither have had to face lathi-charges nor endure such a prolonged struggle,” Hooda said while addressing a press conference.
“The government must now apologise to the youth, the country's future, whom it subjected to lathi-charges and brutality. Furthermore, the examination system must be made transparent enough to eliminate any possibility of future paper leaks,” he added.
Hooda said the issue of paper leaks has assumed epidemic proportions across the country, forcing young people to take to the streets in protest against what he described as the apathy of the BJP government.
He said the Congress, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, launched a nationwide movement through the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' (Voice of Students) campaign. “Ultimately, the BJP was compelled to yield to this mass movement. The Congress will now demand accountability from the government regarding paper leaks within Parliament,” he said.
Hooda claimed that approximately 7.5 crore candidates have been affected by recurring paper leaks under the BJP government. “This problem is not confined to competitive examinations alone, and rampant paper leaks are also occurring in various recruitment exams. The unemployment crisis is such that 9 crore young people apply for a mere 6 lakh jobs annually,” he said.
He said Haryana has become a hub for paper leaks and cited details of more than 30 such incidents that, according to him, occurred in the state during the BJP government's tenure.
Hooda further claimed that more than 152 paper leaks have occurred across the country. He alleged that an entire racket trading in examination papers and jobs is active nationwide, including in Haryana.
“The problem has become so severe that it is proving fatal; 26 candidates across the country have committed suicide, distressed by the NEET paper leak alone,” he said.
Hooda also said numerous complaints had emerged regarding the NEET re-examination, which, he claimed, indicated that the government was not serious about the issue.
“When the government repeatedly shirks its responsibility, the public is compelled to take the path of agitation to hold the government accountable, and that is precisely what has been witnessed in this movement,” he said.
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