NEW DELHI: A war of words broke out between Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday over the CBSE Class XII results row, with Pradhan accusing Gandhi of politicising the issue and being frustrated. Gandhi, on the other hand, asserted that attacking him would not absolve the minister of his “crimes”.
Pradhan’s response came after Gandhi alleged irregularities in the CBSE examination evaluation system, particularly its on-screen marking (OSM) module, which many students have alleged has negatively impacted their final result.
Gandhi demanded an independent judicial probe and constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the truth behind the “entire scam”. He also alleged that a company COEMPT, with “dubious past in Telangana”, was handed the contract by the CBSE for digital evaluation of answer books for Class XII examination.
Attacking Gandhi, Pradhan said the Congress leader appeared “frustrated” due to continuous electoral setbacks. “As far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, he seems to have reached a different state of mind. Due to continuous electoral defeats, he appears frustrated. He opposed the SIR, EVMs, and he was against Digital India. He does not seem to stand with India’s scientific progress,” said the minister.
Pradhan emphasised that the CBSE’s actions align with the Government of India’s procurement policy and assured that if any irregularities are discovered, action will be taken against those responsible. “As far as this issue is concerned, I take responsibility on behalf of the government for any inconvenience, and I request everyone that this is not the time for politics. I have said this earlier as well. Politics can be done later,” he said.
Hitting back, Gandhi said, “Dharmendra Pradhan ji, you can attack me all you want, but it won’t absolve you of your crimes. Nor will it stop me from demanding answers for 18.5 lakh children.”
Posing a series of questions on X, Gandhi asked why the contract for the OSM module was handed to COEMPT, “a company already mired in controversy under its old name, Globarena?”. He asked, “On whose orders was it done? Why were no background checks done? What is the connection between COEMPT’s management and government?”
Gandhi said that if PM Modi truly cared about the situation, he should have sacked Pradhan long ago for ruining the futures of lakhs of students.