Jaipur: Amid the nationwide political uproar over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, the issue of the 2021 REET paper leak in Rajasthan has once again taken centre stage. Rajasthan Minister Dr Kirodi Lal Meena has written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking a comprehensive probe by Central agencies into alleged paper leak cases that occurred during the previous Congress government.
In the letter, Meena names former Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra and former Technical Education Minister Dr Subhash Garg while making serious allegations against officials from the then Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), former Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) office-bearers, and individuals associated with the Rajiv Gandhi Study Circle.
Dr Meena alleged in his letter that the future of unemployed youth was subjected to “institutionalised manipulation” during the previous Congress government’s tenure.
According to Meena, question papers for 17 of the 18 major competitive examinations conducted during the Congress party’s five-year term were leaked in a systematic manner.
The letter further alleges that a former Congress minister amassed nearly Rs 40 crore through a paper leak syndicate, with the money allegedly being used to finance his son’s political and personal projects in Sikar.
However, the letter does not identify the former minister by name.
Dr Meena submitted the letter to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs along with what he described as confidential documents, photographs, and other evidence.
The letter claims that the Rajiv Gandhi Study Circle was established at the behest of senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and alleges that its senior functionaries had direct links with the Congress leadership. Meena further claims that several paper leak cases, including the REET-2021 examination, can be traced to individuals associated with the organisation.
Questioning the integrity of the REET-2021 examination process, Meena alleged that the Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan, acting under pressure from the then Education Minister, the RPSC chairman, and senior officials, violated established procedures while awarding the contract for printing question papers to Kolkata-based Saraswati Printing Press.
According to the letter, the printing press was allegedly not authorised to handle such highly confidential work. Despite this, Meena claims, it was awarded the contract for a second consecutive time by bypassing prescribed rules.
In his letter, Meena also expressed disappointment over what he described as the slow progress of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigation despite the availability of substantial evidence.
He stated that he had previously met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the alleged paper leak scam and claimed that the matter was referred to the ED only after directives from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Meena has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to direct Central agencies, including the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to immediately investigate the alleged masterminds behind the paper leak syndicate.
He stated that a dossier containing documents, photographs, and other evidence has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Congress party and the individuals named in the letter have not publicly responded to these allegations till the time of writing.
(IANS)
