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Has CJP demanded Punjab education minister's resignation amid uproar over paper leaks? Saurav Das responds
“We have said it publicly that everyone should be held accountable, but our immediate demand was that of Dharmendra Pradhan's accountability," said Saurav Das.
After Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over NEET-UG paper leak following a month-long protest at Jantar Mantar by the Cockroach Janta Party, the focus has now shifted to Punjab. The state's education minister, Harjot Singh Bains, is facing heat from opposition parties to resign over “many paper leaks” in the state.
When asked about whether the CJP demanded Bains' resignation as well, the satirical outfit's spokesperson Saurav Das said they were clear that their demands were “very specific” and they stuck to that.
‘Our demand was very specific’
While speaking with News18, author Anand Ranganathan asked whether Saurav Das had publicly demanded the resignation of Punjab's education minister under whom, he claimed, three papers have leaked. He also named Karnataka education minister Madhu Bangarappa amid alleged paper leaks in the state.
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“Show me one public statement where you have asked for the resignation of all three of them,” asked Ranganathan.
To this, Das replied that during their talks, the government was concerned whether the CJP will carry forward the protests and highlight the demands of the “Prime Minister's resignation”.
“We told them that our demand is very specific and we will stick to that. Coming to your point, we have spoken with Mann (Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann) as well. I want to make it clear that all the education minister from whichever party, if they are failing in their job of preventing paper leaks, all of them should be held accountable,” Das said.
“We have said it publicly that everyone should be held accountable, but our immediate demand was that of Dharmendra Pradhan's accountability because a lot of policies and legislations came through him. But I also want to add that whoever fails the youth, not just any education minister, we will keep raising voice for their resignation and accountability as well,” he added.
Also read: ‘Pradhan resigned, what about shameless Punjab education minister?’: Paper leaks in focus again
On Saturday, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister after nationwide student protests. BJP's Pralhad Joshi was given additional charge of the education ministry after that.
Uproar against Punjab edu minister
The opposition parties in Punjab, including Congress and the Bharatiya Janta Party, are demanding Bains' resignation over alleged paper leaks in the state. However, the state's chief minister Bhagwant Mann has denied all such claims, asserting there has not been a single case of paper leak in any competitive exam in the last four years.
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“They were scanning the papers digitally with a Bluetooth pen and sending them out. They were getting the answers they wanted from outside. Ten minutes after the paper started, the students inside who were cheating were also caught and those who were getting the papers done from outside, who were charging ₹3-5 lakhs for a paper, they were also caught and put in jail,” Mann said at an event recently, as quoted by news agency ANI.
Apart from Congress and BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also demanded Bains' resignation and alleged that six paper leaks have happened in the state, including the Punjab Teacher Eligibility Test, Class 12 English exam, and pharmacy officer test.
