BJP MP Varun Gandhi hit out at the 'organised education mafia' in the state. (file)
Allegations of yet another Uttar Pradesh government recruitment paper leak in Uttar Pradesh have drawn criticism and sharp attacks not just from the opposition but also from BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who in a tweet hit out at the 'organised education mafia' in the state.
The Uttar Pradesh police say they arrested at least 21 people from different districts on Sunday for allegedly helping examinees cheat through Bluetooth devices during a recruitment drive for 'Lekhpals' in the state revenue department. The examination was held in about 500 centres on Sunday in 12 Uttar Pradesh districts
"After paper leaks in the UP police, UPPCL, UPSSC, Tube well operator, PET, UPTET, B.Ed. , NEET exams, the cheating mafia was dominant in the 'Lekhpal' exams too. Till when will this organized education mafia play with the future of our youth. This is very unfortunate", Varun Gandhi said in a tweet this morning
Mr Gandhi is the Lok Sabha MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. In the last year, he has put out multiple tweets questioning government policy, especially on youth and jobs. In his latest tweet, Mr Gandhi also shared a viral video reportedly from an examination centre in Prayagraj where those appearing for exams created a ruckus over allegations of the leak.
The same video was shared by the Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday evening on Twitter. In his tweet, Mr Yadav said, "The Lekhpal exam paper was also leaked today. It now seems that students are making correct allegations that all this is a ploy by the BJP govt so that no recruitment exam gets completed and no one lands a job. The BJP is against salary and pension".
In November 2021, a major entrance exam for teachers in Uttar Pradesh was cancelled after the question paper got leaked. The Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET) is a state-level teacher eligibility test mandatory for teachers who wish to teach primary or upper primary classes in state-board affiliated schools. Lakhs of aspirants were scheduled to take the exam across the state
In April this year, three journalists who were arrested in the Balia district of Uttar Pradesh for their alleged role in the paper leak of the Class 12 English examination were granted bail as the police were unable to produce any evidence against them to prove their involvement.
The three journalists - Ajit Ojha and Digvijay Singh, who work with the Hindi daily Amar Ujala, and Manoj Gupta, who works with another Hindi newspaper, were arrested for their alleged roles in the leak of the Class 12 English question paper of the Uttar Pradesh Board in March this year. The arrests led to outrage and the journalists claimed they were being targeted for exposing the cheating mafia in the state.