CHANDIGARH: Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Punjab Assembly on Monday as Congress MLAs demanded the resignation of Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains over alleged examination paper leaks, forcing Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhawan to briefly adjourn proceedings.
During Question Hour, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, along with Congress MLAs wearing black stoles, raised the issue of alleged multiple paper leaks during the AAP government's tenure. Referring to Bains' visit to the student protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, Bajwa said the minister had demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over paper leaks and should now resign himself. He also sought the resignation of Health Minister Balbir Singh over the alleged cheating racket in the pharmacy officer recruitment examination.
As Congress MLAs continued sloganeering in the Well of the House, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused them of creating drama and said government jobs were being given only on merit. Despite repeated appeals by the Speaker, the protests continued, leading to a brief adjournment of the House.
Later, the Assembly passed a resolution condemning repeated examination scandals, recruitment irregularities and institutional failures that it said had undermined the integrity of public examinations and the aspirations of the youth. The resolution expressed solidarity with students across the country and called for the withdrawal of criminal proceedings against peaceful protesters.
Speaking on the resolution, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann claimed that 93 paper leak incidents had been reported since 2014, including 65 between 2019 and 2024, and accused the Centre of failing to address the issue.
Mann questioned the "Vishwaguru" claim while referring to PM Modi and said, "How does he claim to be Vishwaguru when he cannot stop paper leaks?” He also alleged that the government was trying to rewrite history books.
He alleged that the BJP had remained non-committal on paper leaks, promised only fast-track courts for the accused, used pellet guns against protesting students and claimed the Prime Minister's degree was fake.
"The Centre wants to give away the education sector to the private sector. I want to ask the BJP why it treated the youth so shabbily by firing pellet guns at them, dragging them and arresting them. I salute the children who have forced the Central Government to bend,” Cheema said adding that the resolution should be sent to the Prime Minister's Office, Home Minister's Office and Education Minister's Office.
The House also condemned the alleged excessive use of force, arbitrary detention and criminal prosecution of peaceful students and citizens, including education and environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk, for exercising their democratic right to protest.
Rebel SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali supported the resolution and praised the management of Gurdwara Rakabganj in Delhi for helping students during the protests. However, he criticised the Punjab government over the lathi-charge on sanitation and MGNREGA workers, saying, ``everyone has a right to protest.”
Responding to the debate, Bains said the issue went beyond cheating and paper leaks and called for a reboot of the education system.
"This is not the time to forgive the students, but to seek their forgiveness for failing them as policymakers and as a government,’’ Bains said.
He said he was the only Education Minister to visit the students' protest at Jantar Mantar and added that students had gathered there to protest for India, not against it, and that dissenting voices should not be labelled as ``anti-national’’.
Earlier, during obituary references, Speaker Sandhawan referred to the impact of the alleged NEET paper leak and said the House paid tribute to students who lost their lives and expressed condolences to their families. He urged the Centre to strengthen the examination system to prevent such incidents.
After the Speaker's remarks, BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma questioned when the Punjab government would accept responsibility for the alleged paper leaks in the state.