New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday (June 1) launched a scathing attack at the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the ongoing
controversy surrounding the CBSE 's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. Alleging serious irregularities, the Congress leader questioned the Centre for its commitment to the education sector. Khera accused the BJP-led government of jeopardising the future of students by allowing alleged lapses in examination management. Addressing a press conference, Khera targeted Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, demanding answers over the selection of a private company involved in the digitisation and scanning process. "The Bharatiya Janata Party is ruining the present and future of children. There is corruption in board exams and corruption in competitive exams. Do you want them to remain unemployed?" the senior COngress leader said. Targeting PM Modi, Khera said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed different varieties of mangoes. Does the country deserve this man as the Prime Minister when the younger generation is in crisis and their future is being destroyed?" “Neither will I study, nor will I let others study — this seems to be the real slogan of the Bharatiya Janata Party. They are playing with the future of the younger generation," he added. He also questioned giving the contract to the COEMPT Edutech Private Limited for scanning answer sheets. He accused the government of neglecting students' interests, citing alleged corruption in board and competitive examinations, declining education spending, and inadequate attention to cybersecurity. "What kind of system is this under Modi ji? Now, digital copies will replace physical copies. There has to be some hidden deal behind this," Khera remarked.
"Children are suffering because of the company’s mistakes. This government has no concern for cybersecurity. During the UPA government in 2013–14, the education budget was 4.77 per cent. Under Narendra Modi, it has fallen to 2.50% per cent" the senior Congress leader stated.
"You withdrew funding from the University Grants Commission because you want an army of unemployed youth. You can make them dance in front of mosques with loud DJs. Why are you so afraid of Gen Z?" he added.
Notably, the Centre is facing flak from the opposition as thousands of blurred answer book scans and multiple cases of mismatched answer sheets allegedly took place during the class 12 board evaluation process.
'Beware of Pickpockets': Rahul Continues To Take On Govt Over CBSE OSM Scheme
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also attacked the Modi government once again over the CBSE's re-evaluation process and cost, saying that when education is treated not as a service but as a business, errors are not corrected but multiplied.
Gandhi shared a video snippet from his conversation with CBSE students facing problems due to the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system of the Board.
"Beware of pickpockets - today, they are sitting right inside the CBSE. If your marks are incorrect due to a CBSE error, what do you get? A bill: Digital scanned copy: Rs. 100 per subject. Re-totalling: Rs. 100 per paper. Re-evaluation: Rs. 25 per question," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, accompanying the video clip.
A student may have to pay up to Rs 2,000 just to ensure the accurate evaluation of their own answer sheet, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
Doesn’t the Nation Need an Educated PM, Asks Kejriwal
Later in the day, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal also trained guns at the BJP government over the OSM row, and asked on X, "Do you also feel that India desperately needs an educated Prime Minister?"
However, BJP's Amit Malviya retorted to Kejriwal's remarks saying that Prime Minister Modi holds a postgraduate degree, but that is beside the point.
Malviya further said that some people, particularly Arvind Kejriwal, seem unable to reconcile themselves to the fact that a man from a humble background, with no dynastic privilege or elite pedigree, rose to occupy India’s highest elected office through hard work, political acumen, and immense public support.
