‘Papers were leaked during BJP rule too’: Rajasthan CM Gehlot on REET scandal
As the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan alleged that test paper of the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) was leaked before the exam took place, and flagged other irregularities during the exam, chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday dismissed the allegation by saying the Congress-led state government managed the entire process of REET very well.
Speaking to news agency ANI, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Monday that exam papers were leaked even when the BJP was in power in Rajasthan. “The news of the exam paper being out circulated whether the Congress or the BJP is in power,” Gehlot said, adding that action will be taken in the REET matter.
On Sunday, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena demanded the cancellation of REET and said that not only the question papers but the answer sheets were also leaked before the exam. “There is evidence that both the papers and answer sheets were leaked before the exam started. The answer sheets cannot be there at the exam centres and it can be leaked only with the involvement of a secrecy wing official,” Meena told reporters on Sunday and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter.
State party president Satish Poonia said that not a single exam in Rajasthan was conducted transparently in the past two and a half years. On the other hand, BJP Yuva Morcha demanded the resignation of Rajasthan’s education minister Govind Singh.
Ashok Gehlot also alleged on Monday that those candidates who knew that they wouldn't pass the examination were involved in provoking people. “This is not right that such people try to gather a crowd, provoke others. If this goes on, then how will recruitment take place,” Gehlot further told ANI.
Previously, education minister Govind Singh Dotasra on Saturday accused the BJP of misguiding Rajasthan’s youth over the REET and said that if any irregularities were found, the guilty would not be spared. Dostara said that during BJP’s rule in Rajasthan, cheating in exams was rampant and gangs involved in it flourished. “You also had the resources, you had the government, but you kept on sleeping peacefully. The gangs involved in cheating continued to flourish,” the education minister said.
(With agency inputs)