Paper leak & Protest: Conspiracy to spread anarchy in the name of students? Know the condition of paper leak during the previous governments

What has been seen in the country and the state in the last few days regarding the NEET exam raises many questions. Firstly, has the issue related to students’ education or examination become a medium for political selfishness and power struggle and the question related to this is that why do political parties want to take this movement in the direction of anarchy? Is this really a students’ fight now or is the issue-less opposition trying to create political ground in its pretext? These questions are provocative. There is no doubt that the leaking of NEET paper is a criminal incident and a matter of concern, but when a sensitive issue turns into a political platform, the story takes on a new color.

Political demonstrations on the streets of Delhi and in Uttar Pradesh confirm that some parties, especially SP and Congress, want to regain their lost support base by giving face to the grievances of the students. between opposition parties leadership of the movement There is a competition to do this and the proof of this is that a protest was organized under the leadership of Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, after which the State Congress organized a parallel demonstration. Political parties started trying to prove that they have leadership over a representative movement of students.

what is the important issue

There is no worry that his efforts will reveal his priority as to what is important to him, the interest of the students or the political platform. Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh publicly raising questions on Congress’s dharna is proof that internal strife and tussle has started in the opposition camp over this issue.

Another aspect of this episode cannot be ignored. In some videos that surfaced during the protest, many students and parents were seen giving statements that they had come to protest against the NEET paper leak, but the politicians present at the protest site diverted the conversation in other directions. When such voices start being raised from within a student movement that things are going on that deviate from the core issue, then it should become a matter of concern for the protesting students as well. If a movement which was started to reform the education system and save the sanctity of examinations, starts getting entangled in different political slogans and unrelated controversies, then the biggest loss will be to the very students in whose name all this was started.

Concern regarding security is also a serious matter

The concern regarding security around the Parliament complex is also a serious matter. The right to protest is fundamental in any democracy, but when the crowd creates a situation that approaches the security limits of a constitutional institution, then it becomes a question of serious responsibility for both the administration and the organizers. In such situations, responsible political leadership is expected to keep the crowd under control and not instigate it further. But SP and Congress leaders were seen promoting anarchy. If parties supporting the movement continue to encourage the march despite fears of security risks, it is fair to question whether their political gains outweigh the safety of children.

Now let’s talk about the main issue. Paper leaks and irregularities in the examination system are undoubtedly a real and serious problem. But, this is not a new phenomenon. In the past years, there have been incidents of leaking of question papers in various states, irrespective of which party is in power. The surprising thing is that the same political parties, during whose rule recruitment examinations were repeatedly involved in controversies, are today trying to prove themselves to be the biggest guardians of morality.

During the SP government in Uttar Pradesh, many controversies came to light regarding police recruitment, teacher recruitment, Subordinate Services Commission and other competitive examinations. Questions were raised on making people of a particular caste prominent in the selection commissions. Cases of nepotism and bribery also came to light. To this day, SP continues to look away from these allegations.

Condition of Bihar and Rajasthan along with UP

Similarly, questions were raised regarding teacher appointments and other examinations in Bihar. The same thing happened during the Congress government in Rajasthan. The teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal attracted the attention of the entire country. After such examples, the public has the right to ask the opposition parties involved in the student movement as to why they failed to stop such incidents when they were in power. If paper leak is a systemic problem, which has been coming to the fore in different states and under different governments, then its solution should also be found rising above party politics.

In UP, where the pre-2017 governments had handed over competitive examinations to the organized mafia and limited appointments to nepotism, the Yogi government tried to remove these irregularities through the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, under which strict legal provisions were made. These include fine up to Rs 1 crore and life imprisonment. Securing the future of students, restoring the credibility of the examination system, and bringing transparency in recruitment processes. This is not the responsibility of any one party, but of both the ruling party and the opposition.

When a government activates investigating agencies in paper leak cases, takes action against the culprits, and brings proposals for reforms in the new examination system, protesting just for the sake of protesting instead of accepting it, only hinders the solution of the problem. The public expects that when any serious issue comes up, all political parties should work together towards a solution and not look at it from the point of view of electoral gains.

Question related to the future of millions of youth

The paper leak issue is a question related to the education system of the country and the future of millions of youth. It would be unfair to the students to turn this into a fight for political credit. What is needed is to make the examination system more transparent, more secure and more accountable through a shared commitment of all political parties. As long as this basic objective remains buried in the noise of political rhetoric, neither the students will get justice nor any permanent improvement in the system will be possible. SP and Congress should introspect whether they are really concerned about the future of the students, or have taken to the streets only in search of an opportunity. (These are the personal views of the author.)