Bhubaneswar: The alleged circulation of a postgraduate (PG) medical examination question paper at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Brahmapur has snowballed into a political controversy, with the Opposition Congress and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday demanding the resignation of Health Minister Dr Mukesh Mahaling and Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj.
The parties alleged that the incident reflected the state government’s failure to safeguard the integrity of medical examinations.
The Odisha University of Health Sciences (OUHS), however, maintained that the incident was a case of examination “malpractice” and not a question paper “leak”.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das alleged that the controversy had exposed the “utter failure” of the BJP government in protecting the state’s education system.
“Odisha Medical PG examination paper leak lays bare the utter failure of Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling. Along with Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, he has failed to protect the integrity of the state’s education system. Accountability must begin at the top. Both ministers should resign,” Das said in a post on social media platform X.
Joining the attack, BJD vice-president Pratap Jena said the alleged leak had raised serious concerns over the credibility of examinations conducted in the state.
Drawing a parallel with the NEET-UG controversy, Jena said, “The alleged NEET paper leak had triggered protests across the country and disrupted Parliament. Now, a similar incident has surfaced in Odisha during the Medical PG examination held on July 27. Copies of the question paper and answer key are reportedly circulating on WhatsApp. It is deeply unfortunate. Such incidents continue because the state government has failed to maintain control over the system. We demand a thorough investigation, identification of those responsible, and stringent action to ensure that this does not happen again. The BJP government must answer for this.”
Rejecting the Opposition’s charge of a paper leak, OUHS Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Manash Ranjan Sahoo clarified that preliminary findings indicated that it was a case of alleged examination “malpractice”.
“If the question paper had gone viral before the examination commenced, it would have been considered a ‘paper leak’. However, the examination began at 10 am, and the paper surfaced only after it had started. Therefore, it is a case of ‘malpractice’ and not a ‘paper leak’,” Sahoo said.
The controversy erupted after photographs of the General Surgery Second Paper of the MS/MD (2023–26) batch were allegedly shared in WhatsApp groups during the All Odisha Medical PG Examination held on July 27.
The matter reportedly came to light after a student from a private medical college in Bhubaneswar informed university authorities that he had received photographs of the question paper through a WhatsApp group allegedly created by a student of MKCG Medical College and Hospital.
Following the incident, the OUHS Vice-Chancellor convened a virtual meeting with principals of medical colleges conducting the examination and directed them to strengthen security measures for the remaining papers.
Sahoo said the university was awaiting the inquiry report from MKCG Medical College before deciding on disciplinary and legal action against those found responsible.
Even as the university maintained that the incident should not be termed a paper leak, the controversy has intensified political attacks on the state government, with the Opposition demanding accountability and a transparent investigation into the alleged examination malpractice.
