Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday claimed that there has been no paper leak under his government and accused the BJP of trying to defame Punjabis for its own political gains.
Addressing the media in New Delhi after meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the Parliament complex, Mann said the BJP is making “false allegations” about paper leaks to defame Punjabis and warned that this will cost them dearly.
He also met some Opposition MPs during his visit to Parliament House, including Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
The chief minister said the BJP should “stop maligning Punjabis” for political gains and fight its political battle with him instead.
The BJP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal have alleged paper leaks in Punjab’s pharmacy examination and are demanding the resignation of the education minister in the state.
The CM said his government has provided 69,000 government jobs solely on the basis of merit and without any recommendations and paper leaks.”The beauty of democracy is that people should continue to meet and interact with each other. Differences in ideology are natural in politics and they will always exist,” Mann said.
Referring to the Opposition’s allegations over paper leaks, Mann said: “Our government has completed four-and-a-half years in office, but not a single examination paper has leaked in Punjab during this period.”
{{/usCountry}}Referring to the Opposition’s allegations over paper leaks, Mann said: “Our government has completed four-and-a-half years in office, but not a single examination paper has leaked in Punjab during this period.”
{{/usCountry}}“A few days ago, we did detect a case of cheating during a pharmacy examination. The exam started at 11am, and by 11.15am, we had found that a candidate was using a Bluetooth-enabled pen to scan the question paper and receive answers through an earpiece from people sitting outside. The Punjab Police acted, immediately arrested 10 candidates along with an 11-member gang operating from outside,” he said.
Responding to the Opposition’s demand for the resignation of the education minister, the CM said: “First of all, the pharmacy examination did not fall under the education department but under the health department. The health minister has already clarified that there was no paper leak. It was merely an attempt at cheating, which was immediately stopped, and the examination concluded successfully.
SAD demands HC-monitored probe
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Tuesday demanded a high court-monitored investigation into the alleged examination irregularities in the state.
“The recent paper leaks, including the pharmacy officers paper leak in which Bluetooth devices were used, prove that the entire examination system has been compromised,” he said, demanding resignation by education minister Harjot Bains, health minister Balbir Singh and the chief minister by accepting accountability for the paper leaks.