CBSE Paper Leak: Rahul, Sibal lead Congress charge; Javadekar avoids students

Students and Congress activists on Friday protested outside the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) headquarters in Delhi over the leakage of Class 10 maths and Class 12 economics question papers. Some of the protesters tried climbing over the police barricades outside the office in Preet Vihar but were rebuffed. The affected students and their parents say the leakage of exam papers has hit them badly. Many who had been looking forward to holidays would now have to cancel their plans until the tests are held again.

Meanwhile, ANI reported that “Section 144 was imposed near Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar’s residence on Kushak Road, Delhi”, to fend off protesting students.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi and former Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal led the Congress charge against the Modi Government on the CBSE paper leak issue. Rahul Gandhi mocked the Modi government in a tweet on Friday, saying “PM wrote Exam Warriors, a book to teach students stress relief during exams. Next up: Exam Warriors 2, a book to teach students & parents stress relief, once their lives are destroyed due to leaked exam papers.”

Kapil Sibal slams PM’s silence, alleges mafia has taken control of education system

Citing the Vyapam scam in medical admissions in Madhya Pradesh, the SSC recruitment scam and now the CBSE paper leak scam, former Union HRD Minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal at a press conference on Friday alleged that “Mafia has controlled the education system.” Sibal demanded to know how Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be silent on an issue where over 20 lakh young students have to take exams again due to leaking of question papers.

“For the first time in history, over 20 lakh CBSE students have to reappear for the same paper. We used to take precautions but was this system changed due to some pressure? No one is ready to say sorry to the kids. No step has been announced till date to give the message that they will resolve this issue. Is it because they themselves are involved?” asked Sibal, adding that “This government is increasing tension for children and parents”.

“A government which which can't guarantee security of questions papers, how can they ensure security of the nation? They talk of bringing new world class universities, but why are they ignoring common citizens and making education for them difficult?” asked Sibal at the press conference.

On Thursday, Sibal had said “It is sad that in this country economics and maths exam papers are leaked which never happened in the past. I have also been the HRD minister. If you talk about Election Commission, election dates are leaked. If you look at Aadhaar, data is leaked. But when they have to protect their own degrees, the information never leaks. So the government knows how to protect information, what they don't want leaked is not leaked.”

With IANS inputs.