Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday criticised the Centre over the temporary blocking of Telegram ahead of the NEET re-test, alleging that the move was an attempt to cover up failures in tackling paper leaks and examination irregularities.In a statement, Kharge said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should seek the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan instead of taking measures such as blocking Telegram.He alleged that repeated exam leaks had affected millions of students and claimed that nearly 90 paper leak incidents had occurred over the past decade.“Whether it’s deploying the Indian Air Force, blocking Telegram, or catching small fish to protect the paper leak mafia—this is all something the Modi government has to do because in the last 10 years, 90 paper leaks have occurred, and 9 crore youth are suffering due to this fraud and corruption. How long will this government keep covering up its failures?”Kharge claimed that PM Modi had remained silent on the issue.“Nearly half a dozen young people have been forced to take their own lives. Modi ji doesn’t utter a single word.”Raises concerns over exam integrityThe Congress chief said several national-level examinations, including NEET, SSC, UGC-NET and CUET, had faced controversies related to paper leaks and irregularities, causing hardship to students and their families.He also referred to concerns raised over CBSE results and allegations surrounding the UPSC examination process.“Our talented 17-18-year-old students had to expose this government,” he said.Kharge claimed that repeated examination failures had undermined confidence in the country’s recruitment and education systems.The remarks come amid an ongoing political debate over examination reforms, paper leak allegations and measures taken by authorities to curb online scams targeting students ahead of re-NEET on June 21.
