Chandigarh: Signalling it stands firmly with Gen Z and raising its voice against what it termed as atrocities on the country’s youth, the Punjab Assembly on Monday passed a censure motion against repeated paper leaks across the country.
The motion was passed by a voice vote.
Winding up the debate on the motion and later addressing the media, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said repeated paper leaks under the BJP-led Union Government had shattered the aspirations of crores of students, while those seeking justice were met with tear gas shells, pellet guns, and police action instead of accountability.
The Chief Minister said the state government would forward the censure motion to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Union Ministry of Education and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, urging the Centre to take stringent measures to prevent paper leaks and restore the credibility of the country’s education system.
The main opposition Congress, however, walked out of the House during the debate on the motion.
In the House, CM Mann said: “Those who have been claiming to make the country a Vishwaguru have made a mockery of the education system by failing to check the repeated paper leaks across the country. Paper leaks, or in other words the selling of examination papers, shatter the dreams of the aspirants.”
“A reflection of this is that 22 candidates of the NEET examination committed suicide. From 2014, ever since the BJP regime assumed charge of office, 93 paper leaks have taken place in the country.”
“The number of such paper leaks between 2019 and 2024 was 65, and the maximum number of such leaks took place in BJP-led governments in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and others.”
Expressing concern over the manner in which students have been treated, he noted: “These leaders are changing the school syllabus for the sake of their own vested political interests, which is highly unfortunate. The students of the country forced the Prime Minister to take the resignation of the Union Minister who had failed to check the paper leaks in the country.”
“The high-handedness of the Union Government in the use of tear gas, brutal police force, pellet guns and other measures against the students is regrettable.”
Continuing on the issue, CM Mann said: “Pellet guns are banned across the world, but the Union Government has mercilessly used them against innocent students. Instead of pledging to conduct the examinations fairly, the Prime Minister is promising fast-track courts to mislead the people. It is a mockery of the system that the Union Government is roping in defence services for the smooth execution of the examinations.”
(IANS)
