Sambalpur: Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar Wednesday attacked the Centre over the NEET fiasco, asserting that a government which cannot stop paper leaks in examinations is shameless enough to hold Pariksha Pe Charcha.
Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC), launched in 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is an annual initiative aimed at reducing examination stress and promoting holistic learning among students.
The Prime Minister who makes reels on Pariksha Pe Charcha has gone mute when a real concern has emerged over the future of lakhs of aspiring students. The government which could not stop paper leaks is shameless enough to hold such a programme, Kumar said.
Addressing a public gathering organised by the NSUI at Dhankauda field following a march in the city, he alleged that the Centre had failed to take responsibility for repeated examination paper leaks that had jeopardised the future of lakhs of students across the country.
The Congress leader claimed that weak leadership was responsible for the recurring irregularities in conducting examination paper leaks.
He also coined a slogan, PM weak, paper leak, which was echoed by those present at the gathering.
Kumar questioned the Prime Minister’s refusal to sack Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET fiasco.
The NEET-UG examination was conducted May 3, following which allegations of a paper leak surfaced. The examination has been cancelled.
Kumar asked, What file does Pradhan have against PM Modi that he is not able to sign the file of his dismissal
Sambalpur is the Lok Sabha constituency of Pradhan.
The rally commenced from Ainthapali Chowk and passed through Budharaja, Modipada, VSS Marg and Jail Chowk before culminating at the meeting venue.
Thousands of Congress supporters, including women and a large number of youths, participated in the procession.
Questioning the Centre’s continued support for Pradhan, Kumar asked why the Prime Minister was hesitant to remove a minister despite repeated controversies surrounding examination management.
He alleged that the government was protecting an incompetent minister instead of fixing accountability.
Targeting Pradhan over the recent NEET controversy and other alleged examination irregularities, Kumar claimed that over 80 examination papers had been leaked during his tenure as Union Education Minister. Don’t call him Dharmendra Pradhan. Call him ‘Leak Pradhan’, he mocked.
Referring to Pradhan’s visit to Puri earlier in the day, the Congress leader said, He had gone to Jagannath Dham not for the people or for celebrating the completion of 12 years of the Modi government, but to pray that his chair remains secure for some more time.
The Congress leader also referred to the social media-driven movement by the Cockroach Janata Party and accused the BJP of attempting to belittle public dissent.
A government that has been eating away at the country like termites is calling the youth of the nation cockroaches, Kumar said.
Accusing the BJP government of fostering corruption and cronyism, Kumar said the administration functioned like a mafia driven by commissions and corruption.
He warned that protests against examination paper leaks would intensify across the country if accountability was not fixed and if Pradhan was not removed from his post.
Kanhaiya was accompanied by NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar and state Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das.
Earlier in the day, briefing a press meet, Das accused the BJP government of attempting to derail the programme by detaining Congress workers and organisers from neighbouring districts, including Angul, Bargarh, Sundargarh and Balangir, and preventing them from reaching the venue.
Das alleged that the police were being misused for the wrongful detention of party workers and claimed that a hate campaign was being run against Kumar on social media.
Later, a few banners were found put up by unidentified people across the city, labelling Kumar as an anti-national, which were removed by Congress workers.