NEW DELHI, 9 Mar: The Congress asserted on Friday that its guarantee of freedom from exam paper leaks is not just aimed at punishing the culprits but also to stop any such incidents from occurring in the first place.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said that the party has promised that it will bring new laws that will ensure the highest standards of honesty and fairness in every step of the examination process.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also slammed the ruling BJP over the issue.
“Dear BJP spokespersons: The difference between the BJP’s toothless Act on ‘question paper leaks’ and the Congress’ promise is: 1. monetary compensation to the victims; 2. fast-track courts to punish the offenders,” he said on X.
The Congress on Thursday gave “five guarantees” for youngsters if voted to power at the Centre, and termed those “yuva nyay.” The guarantees given by the opposition party are – filling of government vacancies, apprenticeships, freedom from government recruitment exam paper leaks, social security for gig workers, and a startup fund for youngsters.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “Yesterday, Congress announced 5 Yuva Nyay Guarantees to secure the future of the nation’s youth by addressing issues which are causing distress to crores of young people. Today, the BJP’s distortionists have sprung into action!” “One of our guarantees is Paper Leak Se Mukti. We aim not just to punish the culprits of paper leaks, but also to stop any paper leaks from occurring in the first place,” the Congress leader said.
“We will bring new laws which will ensure the highest standards of honesty and fairness in every step of the examination process – from paper setting, printing, transportation, administration, and invigilation – both for paper-based and computer-based examinations,” he said.
Ramesh claimed that the current approach of the BJP government in dealing with the issue of paper leaks is “clearly insufficient.”
“In the last seven years, more than 70 paper leaks have wreaked havoc on the futures of over two crore aspirants despite paper leak laws in many states. Most recently, in Uttar Pradesh, we saw 50 lakh aspirants writing the police recruitment exam affected by the leaked paper, despite a paper leak law in place,” he said.
“For the yuva who spends years preparing for these exams, and committing time, effort, and financial resources towards the hope of a better future, it is crucial to ensure papers are not leaked. Punishing the criminals is necessary but secondary. Paper Leak Se Mukti is our commitment to each one of those hard-working aspirants,” the former union minister asserted.
The Congress on Thursday also promised a “rozgar revolution” in the country, saying that it is committed to ensuring justice to youngsters by offering them a guarantee of employment if it comes to power at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls that are likely to be held in April-May. (PTI)