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No paper leaks occurred in Himachal during current Cong govt: Vinay
Hitting back, health minister Dhani Ram Shandil and agriculture minister Chander Kumar have accused Nadda of deliberately misleading the people of Himachal through “false and politically motivated statements”
Himachal Congress on Thursday criticised Union minister JP Nadda over his claim that an Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education examination paper was leaked during the tenure of the present Congress government in the state.
Nadda’s statement came on Wednesday evening, while addressing a press conference.
Hitting back, health minister Dhani Ram Shandil and agriculture minister Chander Kumar have accused Nadda of deliberately misleading the people of Himachal through “false and politically motivated statements”.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the ministers said, “During the previous BJP regime, recruitment examination papers had virtually become commodities for sale with question papers allegedly being auctioned openly while the then chief minister Jai Ram Thakur remained a silent spectator.”
Meanwhile, accusing the BJP of making a futile attempt to conceal its failures and shortcomings, Congress president Vinay said that the BJP is unable to face the anger of the country’s youth and students and is attempting to suppress their voices, along with those of opposition leaders by leveraging the power of authority.
Also, hitting back at Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur over his claim that the Sukhu govt rewarded those responsible for the paper leak, Kumar said, “Paper leaks took place during the previous BJP government’s tenure, with even exam papers from the Hamirpur Staff Selection Board being sold during that tenure.”
He said that shortly after Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government took office in December 2022, a paper leak case regarding the JOA (IT) recruitment exam came to light. Following this incident, and after irregularities were discovered in several past exams conducted by the Hamirpur Staff Selection Commission, the CM completely dissolved the commission in February 2023 and ensured the culprits were put behind bars. He added that to prevent such incidents in the future, the Himachal government has enacted the Himachal Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2025, which provides for up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹1 crore for those involved in paper leaks.
“Centre should take strict action against the guilty in the NEET and CBSE paper leak cases, remove education minister Dharmendra Pradhan from his post, and accede to the demands of the protesting students,” he added.
