BHUBANESWAR: In the wake of allegations of question paper leaks in the recently held Post Graduate medical MD/MS examination, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday alleged that the repeated incidents of question paper leaks in Odisha reflect the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government's failure to maintain control over the examination system.
The opposition party in Odisha claimed that 23 question paper leak incidents have surfaced during the BJP government's 24 months in office and demanded a thorough probe into the alleged Medical PG examination paper leak.
Addressing a press conference at Sankha Bhawan, BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahu and BJD Vice-President Pratap Jena criticised the state government over the alleged leak of the Odisha University of Health Sciences (OUHS) Medical PG examination held on July 27.
Sahu alleged that question paper leaks have become a regular occurrence in both Odisha and the country.
Drawing a comparison with the Indian Premier League (IPL), the BJD MLA said that repeated paper leak incidents have become so common that people have started calling them the "Indian Paper Leak (IPL)".
"While such incidents continue to occur regularly in Odisha, allegations have now surfaced regarding the leakage of the Medical PG examination conducted by the Odisha University of Health Sciences (OUHS) on July 27. According to the allegations, while the examination was in progress, the question paper was being circulated through WhatsApp across various mobile phones. Not only the question paper but even its answers were reportedly circulating on mobile devices," Sahu claimed.
Senior BJD leader Jena said the NEET question paper leak had shocked the country, and the alleged leak of the Medical PG examination in Odisha has further raised concerns among people.
He noted that after the NEET controversy, the Centre enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, providing for stringent action against those involved in question paper leaks.
The Odisha Assembly also passed a similar law 'the Odisha Public Examinations (Prevention Of Unfair Means) Act, 2024', in December 2024 to curb such offences.
"Despite the law containing stringent provisions against those involved in paper leaks, such incidents continue to occur repeatedly in Odisha. During the BJP Government's 24 months in office, irregularities have been witnessed in 23 examinations. Such incidents are recurring because the State government has failed to maintain effective control over the system," Jena alleged.
He demanded that the state government issue a clear explanation, conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, and take stringent action against those found guilty.
