Congress, govt clash over paper leaks; Rahul Gandhi, JP Nadda trade barbs

A political war erupted as Rahul Gandhi slammed the govt over paper leaks and police action on students. Union Minister JP Nadda hit back, accusing the Congress of politicizing the issue and citing leaks in Opposition-ruled states.

A political war of words erupted on Wednesday between the Congress and the government over paper leaks and police action against protesters, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accusing the government of failing students, while Union Health Minister JP Nadda said the Opposition was using student issues to gain political mileage instead of focusing on their welfare.Congress MP Rahul Gandhi slammed police action on protesters over their demands about issues in the education sector and said 152 paper leaks occurred in the last decade, affecting 7.5 crore students and their families.Meanwhile, Nadda said the government was examining Rahul Gandhi's claims about around 150 paper leaks and would respond to every point, placing the facts before the people and the country with complete transparency."I also want to point out that at 4 pm today, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, made a presentation in which he referred to around 150 paper leaks. The matter is under examination, and as a responsible government, we will certainly respond to every point. We will place the facts before the people and the country with complete transparency. However, I would like to share some preliminary observations that have come to my attention and that I have noted down," Nadda said.

Rahul Gandhi Slams Government Over 'Rigged' Education System

Addressing a press conference after the Congress held a protest at Lok Kalyan Marg against police action on protestors during 'Chalo Sansad' march, Gandhi said the party fully supports the demands of students."The thing that is very clear to everybody is that our education system, which was known to be one of the best education systems in the world, is today rigged... What we do know is that 152 paper leaks have taken place over the last decade. If you do the math. So one a month approx. Every month, lakhs of students are told that all the stress that you went through, you're going to have to go through again. After that, they tell we really don't care," the Congress MP said."7.5 crore students and their families are affected by this. These are middle-class and poor families. They put their hard-earned money into this, and then they literally spat on. And the best part of this is zero convictions. In the last 10 years, 152 leaks have taken place and zero convictions. So somebody is, or a group of people are, destroying our education system, India's most valuable asset, destroying the lives of our students. What does the government do? Zero convictions," he added.He said the protestors were demanding a fair education system."The question is why is this happening to our students? What exactly have our students done? They have security forces aiming weapons at them. What have they done wrong? They are protesting peacefully, they are making demands, they are asking for what this country owes them. They are simply asking that listen as students of the country, we deserve a fair education system. Children have committed suicide. Our students go through unlimited stress and at the last minute they are told that the paper has leaked," he said.

Congress's Demands

He alleged that Dharmendra Pradhan has "failed as an Education Minister" and "has literally destroyed India's biggest asset" and said the Congress fully supports the demand for his resignation.He also demanded accountability for police action against protestors during their 'Sansad Chalo' march, saying those who ordered it and those who executed it should be made accountable."They (students) have some demands. The first demand, a completely legitimate demand, is that Dharmendra Pradhan, who has failed as an education minister who is known to be corrupt, should be relieved of his duties. 100% legitimate demand. Nothing wrong with it. He has shown India and the world that he is incapable of running this system. Exam leaks are happening one after the other," he said."The second demand is that every single person who raised a finger on our students and it doesn't matter who the people who ordered it and the people who executed it are, should be made accountable. Third thing is that the man who is running this entire system, the man who is finally accountable for all this, should have the decency to apologise to the students for what has happened," he added.

Nadda Hits Back, Accuses Opposition of Seeking Political Mileage

Meanwhile, Nadda said the government was ready for a detailed discussion on paper leaks in Parliament for any duration decided by the Opposition, urging all parties to work together to find a lasting solution to the issue."We have wanted it (paper leaks) to be discussed in Parliament. Short duration discussion, long duration discussion, in the Business Advisory Committee, you decide how much time you want to take. You can take 12 hours, you can take 18 hours. In the Rajya Sabha, as the leader of the house, I have always believed that we are ready for discussion for whatever number of hours the opposition decides. The government is ready for discussion and the opposition should keep this in mind and should not change the goal post," Nadda said."We should think about how we can solve this problem and the Parliament is the most appropriate forum where we can think about it deeply. The opposition should decide the duration and every aspect should be discussed in it and we should come up with a concrete policy. Children are ours, yours, and the future of the country. It is our responsibility to care for the future of the country. This responsibility includes the government as well as the opposition. Therefore, I urge the opposition to fulfill its responsibility, and we should all work together to address this issue and move forward toward a lasting solution," he further said.

Nadda questions Rahul Gandhi's 'selectiveness'

Nadda also accused Rahul Gandhi of being selective in raising the issue of paper leaks, citing alleged incidents in several states, and said the Opposition was using student issues to gain political mileage instead of focusing on their welfare.He cited alleged paper leak incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala and Karnataka, and questioned why Rahul Gandhi had not raised such cases in Congress and Opposition-ruled states."If I talk about the paper leak in the Service Selection Board examination in Jammu and Kashmir, where the government is of the Congress and the National Conference. Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh, the paper leak happened in Himachal Pradesh School Examination Board where the government is of Congress. Similarly, in Jharkhand, Hindi and Science papers were leaked in JAC, where the government is of the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. In Telangana, the language paper of Intermediate was leaked and there too we know that the government is supported by Congress and CPI. In Telangana, the language paper was leaked in SSC and there too the government is supported by the Congress Party and CPI. In Tamil Nadu, the paper leak happened in the B.Ed course paper of what we call the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University Board; there was an opposition government there too at that time. In West Bengal, the recruitment exam paper of Police Constable was leaked," Nadda said."There was a TMC government there at that time. In Punjab, the Punjab Subordinate Service Selection Board experienced paper leaks and malpractices in the Group B examination. Similarly, in Keralam, irregularities occurred in 26 PSC exam papers. In Karnataka, where the Congress government is, there was a paper leak in the Preparatory Board exam. The PUC paper was leaked. This is a fairly long list, which we'll want to discuss whenever it's time. I'd like to ask the LoP, Rahul Gandhi, why you are so selective? Why haven't you discussed the UPA and UPA-supported governments? Why have you distanced yourself from them? This clearly shows that your objective isn't the welfare of students. Your objective is to improve education, improve the quality of education, and ensure justice for students. You're not interested in this. You want to gain political mileage from student issues and demands. You want to make political gains, which is unfortunate," he further said.(ANI)(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)