Mohali (Punjab) [India], July 26 (ANI): Claiming that there had been no paper leaks under the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday slammed the opposition parties for alleging “many paper leaks” in the state.
Mann also said that 21 people have been arrested in connection with a cheating racket.
“It has been 4.5 years since the government was formed. Not a single paper has leaked in Punjab. We had received reports of cheating from two places. They were scanning the papers digitally with a Bluetooth pen and sending them out. They were getting the answers they wanted from outside. 10 minutes after the paper started, the students inside who were cheating were also caught, and those who were getting the papers done from outside, who were charging Rs 3-5 lakhs for a paper, were also caught and put in jail. 21 people were caught in total and put in jail…”, CM Mann told reporters here.
The remarks came in the wake of the resignation of Dharemendra Pradhan as Education Minister following weeks of Cockroach Janata Party-led protests over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and paper leak controversy.
Pradhan has been replaced by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi.
Earlier today, Delhi Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa listed out several alleged paper leaks that have been reported in Punjab and accused the AAP of doing “politics in the name of children”.
“Manish Sisodia himself had said during a protest on July 18 that if there is a paper leak at their place, the minister would be removed. On the very next day, the 19th, a pharmacy paper leak happens there (in Punjab). It is believed that this paper was sold outside for lakhs of rupees… Earlier, in 2023, the English paper leaked, and in 2025, the SSSB paper leaked. In that case too, it was revealed that the paper was being sold for lakhs of rupees. But now this fresh case has come to light, and he (Manish Sisodia) has said that they will take resignations. When the matter of resignations came up, (Punjab’s Education Minister) Harjot Singh Bains said that this is not my department…, he told ANI.
“The Aam Aadmi Party, which does politics by placing guns on the shoulders of innocent children, is being questioned by the entire country today–when will Punjab’s Education Minister resign? Just yesterday, Manish Sisodia ji was roaring false cries in the name of morality, but today he is sitting silently on Punjab’s leak system. Why exactly?,” he asked in a post on X.
Sirsa said AAP leader Manish Sisodia had earlier maintained that if a paper leak occurred, the minister concerned should resign.
“Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia was shouting and saying that if our paper is leaked, we will make the minister resign. Yesterday and the day before yesterday, when Abhijeet Dipke, who is the president of Cockroach Janata Party, was asked whether there should be a resignation over the Punjab paper leak? He said, absolutely, there should be a resignation over the Punjab paper leak too,” Sirsa said.
He alleged that despite those statements, the AAP had not sought the resignation of Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains.
“Today, when it was their turn to take the resignation of Harjot Bains, they have gone and hidden in holes. This clearly shows that they can go to any length to gain power even if it means harming children, but when it comes to providing justice to the children, they will never do it. Today their true face has been exposed,” he alleged.
https://x.com/mssirsa/status/2081241824291876886
Sirsa further alleged that AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann were unwilling to seek the resignation of their minister despite the issue.
Earlier on Saturday, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also demanded the immediate resignation of Bains, saying “multiple Paper Leaks, Zero accountability! How long will Punjab’s students continue to suffer?”
“The first victory belongs to the youth of India. Dharmendra Pradhan has finally been held accountable & he was made to resign as Union Education Minister. But the fight for justice is not over. Now it’s Punjab’s turn. Multiple Paper Leaks, Zero accountability! How long will Punjab’s students continue to suffer? @harjotbains must resign immediately and take responsibility for putting the future of Punjab’s youth at risk. The youth of India have shown that when they unite, they can make even the most powerful answer for their failures. This fight for justice will continue. @AAPPunjab,” he said.
https://x.com/RajaBrar_INC/status/2080950360689332259
Warring alleged that papers for several examinations, including recruitment tests and the Class 12 English examination, were leaked during the AAP government’s tenure.
The Congress MP from Ludhiana also recalled earlier statements by Sisodia that ministers should resign if examination papers were leaked.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday also demanded the resignation of Punjab Education Minister Bains, alleging that six paper leaks, including the Punjab Teacher Eligibility Test, Class 12 English exam, and pharmacy officer test, had affected lakhs of aspirants in the state. (ANI)
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