Chandigarh, July 25
Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda stated that Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation marks a victory for the struggle waged by the youth and students.
“Had Pradhan accepted moral responsibility and resigned at the very beginning, innocent students would neither have had to face lathi-charges nor endure such a prolonged struggle,” he stated, addressing a press conference.
“The government must now apologize to the youth, the country’s future, whom it subjected to lathi-charges and brutality. Furthermore, the examination system must be made transparent enough to eliminate any possibility of future paper leaks,” he added.
The former Chief Minister said the issue of paper leaks has assumed epidemic proportions across the country, and the youth were forced to take to the streets in protest due to the apathy of the BJP government. “In response, the Congress party, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, launched a nationwide movement through the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (Voice of Students) campaign. Ultimately, the BJP was compelled to yield to this mass movement. The Congress will now demand accountability from the government regarding paper leaks within Parliament,” he said.
Hooda noted that approximately 7.5 crore candidates have been affected by the recurring paper leaks under the BJP government. “This problem is not confined to competitive examinations alone, and rampant paper leaks are also occurring in various recruitment exams. The unemployment crisis is such that 9 crore young people apply for a mere 6 lakh jobs annually,” he said.
He remarked that Haryana has become a hub for paper leaks, citing details of over 30 such incidents that have occurred in the state during the BJP government’s tenure. Prominent among these are- HCS (2023), CET (2023), SI recruitment (March 2022), Dental Surgeon (December 2021), PGI Rohtak exam (2025), Police Constable recruitment (August 2021), Gram Sachiv recruitment (January 12, 2021), Clerk recruitment (December 2016), Electricity Department Clerk recruitment, Excise Inspector (December 2016), Agriculture Inspector (July 2017), Conductor recruitment (September 2017), ITI Instructor recruitment, Excise Inspector, Naib Tehsildar recruitment, PTI recruitment, HTET (November 2015), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Primary Teacher (October 2015), Assistant Professor (College) recruitment scam (February 2017), B-Pharmacy paper leak scam (July 2017), HBSE Board 10th-12th paper leak (2025), HTET 2026 (where unsealed papers were distributed, raising suspicions of a leak), among others.
He stated that over 152 paper leaks have occurred across the country. An entire racket trading in exam papers and jobs is active nationwide, including in Haryana. “The problem has become so severe that it is proving fatal; 26 candidates across the country have committed suicide, distressed by the NEET paper leak alone,” he said.
He noted that numerous complaints have also arisen regarding the NEET re-examination. This clearly indicates that the government is not serious about this issue. “When the government repeatedly shirks its responsibility, the public is compelled to take the path of agitation to hold the government accountable, and that is precisely what has been witnessed in this movement,” he said.
