Hooda says Congress will seek accountability from BJP on paper leaks in Parliament

Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said the Congress party will demand accountability from the central government over recurring paper leaks in competitive examinations, during the upcoming Parliament session. He made the remarks at a press conference in Chandigarh.

Referring to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Hooda said the BJP-led government must apologise to the youth of the country. “Had Mr. 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,” he said.

Hooda called for transparency in the examination system to prevent future leaks. “The government must now apologise to the youth, the country’s future, whom it subjected to lathi-charges and brutality. Also, the examination system must be made transparent enough to eliminate any possibility of future paper leaks,” he added.

The former chief minister alleged that paper leaks have become widespread across the country, forcing students to protest. He credited the Congress party’s nationwide movement, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, led by Rahul Gandhi, for compelling the government to act. “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 repeated paper leaks during the BJP government’s tenure. He asserted that the problem extends beyond competitive exams to various recruitment examinations. Citing unemployment figures, he said nine crore young people apply for only six lakh government jobs each year.

Referring to Haryana, Hooda alleged the state has become a hub for paper leaks, listing over 30 incidents under the BJP government. He described an “entire racket trading in exam papers and jobs” operating nationwide, including in Haryana. He further claimed that the NEET paper leak alone led to 26 candidates across the country dying by suicide.