DEHRADUN: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that at least 152 examination papers had been leaked over the past decade, affecting nearly 7.5 crore aspirants, while the conviction rate in such cases remained "zero".
Addressing students at the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' programme at Bannu School Ground in Dehradun, Gandhi said the paper leak racket had "gripped the entire system" and was jeopardising the future of millions of young Indians.
"In the past 10 years, an examination paper has been leaked almost every month. Yet, those running these rackets have not been punished," Gandhi claimed, calling for stringent action against the alleged mafia involved.
Citing purported rates at which leaked papers and government jobs were allegedly being sold, the Congress leader said, "A NEET paper can be bought for Rs 40 lakh, an IIT-JEE paper for Rs 15 lakh, an Uttarakhand patwari recruitment paper for Rs 15 lakh, a job in Bihar for Rs 10 lakh and a sub-inspector paper in Odisha for Rs 25 lakh."
The most emotional moment of the programme came when Rajesh, the father of NEET aspirant Riya, recounted the events that allegedly preceded his daughter's death by suicide.
Her photograph was displayed on a large screen as he urged Gandhi to push for decisive measures to end paper leaks.
Rajesh said his daughter had shown him a report on her mobile phone claiming that the NEET paper had been leaked.
"I told her the report might be false and that the paper may not have been leaked. But she kept saying, ‘Papa, the paper has been leaked. Students like us are always betrayed in this manner’," he recalled before breaking down on stage.
Expressing grief over Riya's death, Gandhi invited Rajesh to share his experience with the students and said the issue required national attention.
Focusing on the pressures faced by aspirants, Gandhi said crores of young people sacrifice their social lives and personal happiness for years while preparing for competitive examinations.
"They study for eight to 10 hours every day, while their families support them at every step. Many parents go beyond their means and even borrow money to pay for education and coaching," he said.
He added that financial constraints continued to prevent several poor and middle-class families from providing higher education to all their children.
Mathematics teacher Abhinay, who also addressed the programme, warned that future generations would continue to suffer unless governments treated examination leaks seriously.
"Paper leaks do not affect only one batch of students. Their consequences will be felt by coming generations. Governments must act before more lives and careers are destroyed," he said.
