Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Piyush Goyal criticized Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for not mentioning that the same education technology firm he is criticizing had previously received projects from institutions under Congress governments in Telangana and Karnataka. Goyal highlighted that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of impropriety regarding a contract with the EdTech company, Coempt Edu Tech. Goyal accused Rahul Gandhi of choosing propaganda over facts and theatrics over truth.
The Education Minister pointed out that various institutions under Congress governments in Telangana and Karnataka had awarded projects to the same company that Rahul Gandhi now criticizes. Goyal mentioned specific agreements signed with the EdTech company by universities in Bengaluru, Telangana, Raichur, and Dharwad. He questioned whether Rahul Gandhi would accuse the Congress Chief Ministers of collusion if he considered the company tainted, or if his outrage was selective and meant only for headlines against the Modi government.
A controversy has emerged over alleged irregularities in the digital evaluation system used by CBSE for exams like NEET. It began when a student, Vedant Shrivastava, raised concerns about discrepancies in his marks and the transparency of the evaluation process. Vedant discovered that the Physics answer sheet provided by CBSE did not match his handwriting, leading to questions about the evaluation process’s integrity. CBSE rectified the mistake and provided the correct answer sheet after initially sharing a different one with Vedant.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the CBSE examination process, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused the Congress leader of opposing government reform initiatives. Pradhan emphasized that CBSE had followed the government’s procurement policy and would take strict action if any negligence was found. He urged political parties not to politicize issues concerning students. In return, Rahul Gandhi reiterated his accusations against Pradhan and demanded answers for students affected by the alleged discrepancies.
