Himachal Congress hits back at Nadda over paper leak claim
Education Minister clarifies that the incident Nadda referred to was a question paper mix-up, not paper leak
The Himachal Congress has hit back at Union Health Minister JP Nadda over his claim that a Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education examination paper was leaked under the current Congress government. Nadda made the allegation while addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday evening.
Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said Nadda was defaming Himachal Pradesh despite belonging to the state. “He has probably forgotten that paper leaks had become rampant under the BJP’s double-engine government,” Negi said, referring to the leak of the Himachal Pradesh Police constable recruitment examination paper in 2022. Then Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur cancelled the written examination after it emerged that the question paper had been leaked before the test.
Responding to Nadda’s claim, Education Minister Rohit Thakur clarified that the incident he referred to was not a paper leak but a case of a teacher opening the wrong question paper in Chamba district. “A human error can’t be called a paper leak, and it certainly can’t be equated with paper leaks of competitive exams like NEET, Police recruitment, etc.,” said Thakur.
Negi, meanwhile, alleged that paper leaks had become rampant under the BJP government and that the erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission had turned into a den of corruption. “When our government came to power and saw what was happening at the commission, we immediately disbanded it,” said Negi. He further said the Congress government had filed several FIRs, sent those found guilty of corrupt practices behind bars and declared the results of various examinations after a thorough investigation.
Joining the attack, Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil and Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar accused Nadda of misleading people through false and politically motivated statements. The senior ministers alleged that during the BJP regime, recruitment examination papers had virtually become commodities for sale, while then Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur remained a silent spectator.
“The police recruitment examination was compromised and the Staff Selection Commission became synonymous with large-scale recruitment scams, where examination papers were sold with impunity. Despite these grave irregularities, not a single key culprit was brought to justice during the BJP’s tenure,” the ministers said.
They further claimed that the previous BJP government had played with the future of lakhs of unemployed youth by allowing recruitment scams, ensuring that government jobs were cornered by its favourites instead of deserving candidates.
Meanwhile, HPCC president Vinay Kumar said the Congress government had enacted the ‘Himachal Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2025’, which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for those found involved in paper leaks. “Instead of pointing fingers at others, the Centre should take strict action against the culprits in the NEET and CBSE paper leak case, and remove Education Minister Dharmender Pradhan,” said Kumar.
