CBSE marking row: Oppn alleges govt intimidates anyone who asks questions; seeks Pradhan's resignation

Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal have accused the Centre of malpractice and incompetence over alleged irregularities in the CBSE's On-Screen Marking system.

As the row over CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system escalates, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the ''Modi-Pradhan duo'' has turned yet another institution into a ''symbol of malpractice'' and accused the government of defaming and intimidating anyone who asks questions.

AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal also attacked the Centre over the issue, calling Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan ''incompetent and useless''. He also demanded Pradhan's resignation over the alleged irregularities in the OSM system.

The opposition leaders' remarks came after some Class 12 students alleged that the scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising concerns over possible answer-sheet mismatch in the OSM system.

CBSE sources said the board is treating all complaints on top priority.

In a detailed post on social media, a Delhi-based student identified as Vedant alleged that the Physics answer sheet uploaded by the CBSE under the re-evaluation process was not his own.

The Vedant's post, which garnered over 2.5 million views on X, said he and his family discovered that the handwriting in the Physics answer sheet provided by CBSE did not match his own.

Several social media handles, however, initially trolled him, questioning whether the newly-created handle was actually of a CSBE student, with some even calling him ''anti-national'' and ''Pakistani'', but others, including opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, came to his defence.

Gandhi said the truth is that the Modi government ''fears'' the youth and Gen Z because they are now asking questions.

''The Modi-Pradhan duo has turned yet another institution into a symbol of malpractice. For the first time in decades, such serious questions have been raised regarding the CBSE board examinations. 18.5 lakh students appeared for the exams -- yet for over a week, complaints regarding OSM errors, incorrect marking, and evaluation irregularities have gone unheard, while the Education Minister clings to his chair,'' he said in a post in Hindi on X.

The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha pointed out that a 17-year-old student, whose answer sheet was ''incorrectly'' evaluated, took to social media in the hope of finding justice.

However, instead of help, he received ''abuse'' and the BJP's IT Cell labelled him ''anti-national'', a ''Soros agent'', and a part of the ''deep state'', Gandhi claimed.

''A 17-year-old child raises his voice for his own future, and the BJP brands him a traitor,'' the Congress leader said.

''The truth is -- the Modi government fears the youth and Gen Z, because they are now asking questions. And anyone who dares to ask questions is vilified, intimidated, and crushed by this government. But mark my words, Modi ji -- this very youth, this very Gen Z will shatter your arrogance,'' Gandhi said.

Meanwhile, AAP supremo Kejriwal asserted that lakhs of children across the country cannot be traumatised because of the education minister.

He demanded Pradhan's immediate resignation over the alleged irregularities in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) evaluation system.

''The massive irregularities in CBSE evaluation have plunged the future of lakhs of children into darkness. After this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately terminate education minister Dharmendra Pradhan,'' Kejriwal said in a video message on X in Hindi.

''First NEET and now CBSE. Pradhan does not deserve to be the education minister for even a day,'' he added.

Attacking the government over the issue, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said the ''Mantri Pradhan'' should step down and the 'Pradhan Mantri' owed people an explanation for why the minister was being allowed to continue.

Ramesh said the CBSE introduced an OSM system for Class 12 board examinations, which has ''thrown into chaos'' the academic future of lakhs of children across the country.

''The Grade 12 pass percentage has declined by an unprecedented 3 percentage points (from 88% to 85%), and the process has been plagued by irregularities - blurred and illegible answer sheets, erroneous marking, incorrect answer sheets being attributed to students, payment delays, and outrageous revaluation fees being demanded from students,'' he said on X.

The education minister, who is presiding over ''total institutional collapse'', has finally woken up to this ''tragedy'' more than a week after it first came to light, Ramesh alleged.

''He's portraying himself as some saviour by bringing in IIT-Kanpur to help address these technical issues. The question really is why these issues were not anticipated? Why did the CBSE and the ministry not plan carefully before adopting this OSM system? Why did it take the minister so long to respond to this issue?'' he asked.

''The Mantri Pradhan owes the country his resignation, and the Pradhan Mantri owes us answers to why this minister -- who is openly disrupting the future of India's students with his ineptitude -- has been allowed to continue for so long,'' he said.

Reacting on the online trolling of Vedant, former Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, ''Just read this student's ordeal and the comments from sarkari apologists. Imagine the stress level of the student who is sharing some serious discrepancies but instead of solidarity and raising voices for accountability there are handles labelling him a Pakistani.''.

''Shame on you who are adding more mental stress on a young student just to defend an incompetent Education Minister and an equally incompetent set of bureaucrats,'' she said on X.