Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of being frustrated due to continuous electoral defeats and not supporting India's scientific progress. The remarks came amid the ongoing controversy over alleged discrepancies in the CBSE Class 12 evaluation system.
Pradhan's response to the CBSE controversy
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Pradhan said: "Yesterday CBSE gave its response regarding this matter. It is in accordance with the procurement policy of the Government of India. I want to assure everyone that if any irregularities are found, no one will be spared."
He further added: "But as far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, he seems to have reached a different state of mind. Due to continuous electoral defeats, he appears frustrated. He opposed SIR, he used to oppose EVMs, and he opposed Digital India. He does not seem to stand with India's scientific progress."
Government's commitment to students
The minister emphasized that the government is committed to ensuring that students do not face additional stress due to the controversy. "As far as this issue is concerned, I myself take responsibility on behalf of the government for any inconvenience, and I request everyone that this is not the time for politics. Politics can be done later. Right now, the most important thing is that the mental stress of these students and examinees should not increase further. We appeal to everyone that no one’s words or behavior should add to their stress," he added.
Meeting with CBSE officials
Separately, Pradhan chaired a meeting with CBSE officials at the headquarters to address technical and payment-related issues faced by students during the re-evaluation and verification process. After the meeting, the education minister provided details about the ongoing digital evaluation exercise.
"CBSE has begun the revaluation process for the Class 12 examinations. Around 17 lakh students took part, with nearly 98 lakh answer copies — about 40 crore scanned pages in total. For the first time, CBSE has introduced a digital evaluation system, aiming for transparency and student-centric reforms. Students can now access their scanned answer sheets to check marks and raise queries. So far, about 4 lakh students have retrieved their answer sheets, covering nearly 11 lakh copies," Pradhan said.
Involvement of top institutions
He further stated that top institutions and public sector banks have been involved to strengthen the system and address complaints raised by students. "CBSE has involved top agencies, including IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras, to oversee the technology. Four PSU banks — SBI, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank — have integrated payment gateways to support the process. The government acknowledges some discrepancies, accepts responsibility, and promises corrective measures. Officials will ensure that no student query left unresolved and accountability will be ensured at all levels," he added.
Background of the controversy
The controversy erupted after several students raised concerns over scanned answer sheets received during the re-evaluation process, alleging that the uploaded copies did not match their handwriting. A Class 12 student had also claimed on social media that he discovered vulnerabilities in a CBSE-linked OSM testing portal.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of remaining silent over alleged irregularities linked to CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) process and demanded an independent judicial probe into the matter.
However, the Central Board of Secondary Education rejected claims of any breach in the actual evaluation system, clarifying that the portal mentioned online was only an internal testing site containing sample data and not the live platform used for board exam assessment.
Rahul Gandhi's allegations
Rahul Gandhi had earlier alleged that the company awarded the digital evaluation contract had faced controversy in Telangana in the past and questioned whether proper procedures and background checks were followed before the contract was granted. CBSE, in response, said all procurement norms and General Financial Rules were followed while awarding the contract to Coempt Edutech.
