The war of words between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan intensified on Thursday over the controversy surrounding CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system and alleged discrepancies in Class 12 board examination results.
Pradhan strongly criticised Gandhi for accusing the government of tampering with examination results, saying the Congress leader’s remarks reflected frustration over repeated electoral defeats. The minister also accused Gandhi of consistently opposing India’s technological and scientific advancements.
“He seems to have reached a different state of mind. Due to continuous electoral defeats, he appears frustrated. He opposed SIR, he opposed EVMs, and he opposed Digital India. He does not seem to stand with India’s scientific progress. Politics can be done later, but right now the most important thing is that the mental stress of students and examinees should not increase further,” Pradhan told reporters.
Gandhi responded soon after, saying the minister’s criticism would not stop him from demanding answers on behalf of nearly 18.5 lakh students affected by the issue. Reiterating concerns over the CBSE OSM system, the Congress MP questioned why the company COEMPT was awarded the contract despite allegedly being involved in controversies under another name in the past.
“Either you conducted a background check and still went ahead, or you failed to conduct one at all. In either case, you are complicit,” Gandhi said. He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the education minister should have been removed earlier “for ruining the futures of lakhs of students.”
Centre admits lapses
Meanwhile, Pradhan acknowledged that discrepancies had occurred during the evaluation process and said the government accepts responsibility for addressing the issue.
“The government acknowledges some discrepancies, accepts responsibility, and promises corrective measures. Officials will ensure that no student query remains unresolved, and accountability will be fixed at all levels,” he said.
The minister further stated that the CBSE has already initiated the revaluation process for Class 12 board examinations. He added that premier institutions such as IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras have been tasked with overseeing and reviewing the On-Screen Marking technology to ensure transparency and accuracy.
'I take full responsibility, no student's query will go unresolved,' says Pradhan
