BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Youth Congress stepped up its campaign against alleged irregularities in the state’s education system on Thursday, taking to the streets with a torch rally in Bhubaneswar over alleged examination paper leaks and errors in school textbooks.Congress leaders accused the BJP government of failing to address students’ concerns and demanded accountability over the issues.Addressing reporters, Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das said Rahul Gandhi’s call at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Prayagraj had mobilised students and youth across the country.“Following Rahul Gandhi’s call in Prayagraj, the youth and students across the entire nation have awakened. Today, under the leadership of the Odisha Youth Congress, we see Uday Bhanu here, along with Youth Congress leader Ranjit Patra and our in-charge. This fight continues. This struggle has been ongoing in Odisha for some time and will persist across the country,” Das said.Senior Congress leader Manas Choudhury alleged that repeated paper leaks and errors in school textbooks reflected the government’s failure to address education-related concerns.“You are aware of the paper leak that occurred across India; the situation here is even worse. Question papers for school students have been leaked, and there are over 3,000 errors (sic) in the textbooks. Yet, the minister remains asleep. The minister isn’t even fit to speak. He is incapable of saying anything, and nothing is going to change. He has been shown a trailer; the full movie is yet to come,” Choudhury said.Congress leaders alleged that recurring incidents of paper leaks and mistakes in textbooks were affecting students and demanded that the state government be held accountable.The torch rally was organised by the Odisha Youth Congress as part of its campaign, with Congress workers and youth leaders participating in the protest.The Odisha protest comes amid student demonstrations in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in JPSC-JSSC examinations.In Ranchi, BJP state general secretary Amar Kumar Bauri targeted the Jharkhand government over the ongoing protests by JPSC-JSSC aspirants, alleging irregularities in recruitment examinations.“13 examinations have been conducted during this government’s tenure over the last seven years. With the exception of just one, every single exam has come under scrutiny. Issues such as paper leaks, rigged arrangements, the involvement of ‘solver gangs’ (impersonators), and the systematic recruitment of candidates sharing the same serial number at various centres have plagued these exams,” Bauri said.“Students have consistently voiced their protests and grievances about these matters. Yet, the government has repeatedly suppressed their voices while moving forward,” he added.Referring to the controversy surrounding the JPSC 14th Preliminary Test, Bauri said the issue intensified after viral OMR sheets triggered protests by aspirants.“Take the recent JPSC 14th Preliminary Test, for instance; the subsequent viral OMR sheets created an uproar, leading to student protests that have now been ongoing for 16 days,” he said.Bauri further alleged that attempts were made to weaken the student movement by dividing protesters.“Initially, the government attempted to derail the student movement and divide the protesters into factions; the Congress deployed its NSUI wing, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha fielded its Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha. They tried to mislead people by raising slogans about ‘outsiders’ and getting tribal organisations to echo this narrative…” Bauri alleged.The protests in Jharkhand began after the results of the 14th JPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination were announced on July 5.Aspirants alleged irregularities in the recruitment process and have demanded cancellation of allegedly tainted examinations, a CBI probe, transparency in evaluation, disclosure of cut-offs and answer sheets, strict action against those responsible, and a recruitment calendar on the lines of UPSC and SSC.(With ANI inputs)
