Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Thursday accused the Bhagwant Mann-led state government of failing to curb paper leaks in the state, a charge dismissed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Event Context
Citing the recent pharmacy officer recruitment examination conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, Warring alleged that some candidates used technology to cheat during the test.
He also referred to previous controversies, including the Punjab School Education Board Class 12 English paper leak, irregularities in the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test, and allegations of question paper tampering in the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board Group-B recruitment examination.
Warring questioned whether anyone had been held accountable for these incidents.
Drawing a comparison with the AAP’s demand for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged irregularities in national examinations, Warring urged the Punjab government to fix responsibility for paper leaks in the state and take action against those responsible.
Responding to the accusations, AAP’s state media in-charge Baltej Pannu said the Congress and the BJP were levelling “fake and baseless” allegations of paper leaks against the Bhagwant Mann government.
Team Analysis
In a statement, he claimed that not a single recruitment exam paper had leaked in Punjab during the AAP regime. “The incident reported in Faridkot was not a paper leak but a case of cheating using electronic gadgets. The candidate was caught red-handed at the examination centre itself, and the police immediately initiated legal action,” he added. He, however, did not comment on other paper leaks cited by the Punjab Congress president.
