New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday staged protests in Delhi over the alleged paper leak in Punjab, demanding the resignation of Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to ensure fair and transparent recruitment examinations.
BJP workers gathered near the AAP office on Feroz Shah Road and outside the residence of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal, raising slogans against the Punjab government over the alleged examination irregularities.
Protests over alleged irregularities
During the protest on Feroz Shah Road, BJP leaders and workers attempted to march ahead by climbing over police barricades. Protesters climbed over police barricades and tried to move ahead as police tried to stop them. In the video, BJP workers were also trying to topple the barricades and move while police tried to stop them. Police personnel intervened and stopped the protesters, leading to brief scuffles at the protest site.
The demonstrations come amid a political confrontation over the alleged paper leak in the recently conducted pharmacist recruitment examination by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences.
Issue raised in Parliament
The issue also echoed in Parliament on Wednesday, where Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal accused the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government of presiding over repeated examination leaks.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Badal alleged that Punjab had witnessed more than 11 paper leak incidents over the past four years and claimed that the state government had repeatedly attempted to cover up the cases instead of taking strict action.
She cited several alleged incidents, including the Punjab Police Sub-Inspector examination, Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class 12 examinations, Naib Tehsildar recruitment, teacher eligibility tests, Agriculture Development Officer recruitment, Group B teacher examinations, Excise and Taxation Officer recruitment, Punjab State Rural Livelihood Mission recruitment, and the recent pharmacist recruitment examination.
BJP intensifies demand
The Punjab government has denied wrongdoing in previous examination-related controversies and has maintained that action is taken whenever irregularities are detected. Meanwhile, the BJP has intensified its demand for the resignation of Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and a thorough investigation into the latest allegations.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, while speaking to the media on the issue, stated that, "In Punjab as well, the pharmacy recruitment examination has been compromised. But the Aam Aadmi Party is engaging in double standards. When Narendra Modi's Central Government brought such a fine law where through this amendment it was making the Anti-Paper Leak Law even more formidable and robust, increasing penalties, and providing for speedy trialsat that time, they did not allow Parliament to function and created disruptions. On the other hand, when the paper was compromised in Punjab and the future of students was put at stake in Punjab, why is the Aam Aadmi Party maintaining silence there? These double standards they have set regarding accountability and responsibility will not work. They should demand and accept the resignation of their Punjab education minister as soon as possible."
