Top News

New Delhi [भारत]July 26 (ANI): Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke on Sunday said the party will look into the Punjab exam paper leak issue and announce its next course of action soon. "We will announce the future strategy soon. It just finished yesterday; please give us some time. We will look into that also; we are planning for it at the moment," Dipke said.

The CJP founder also said that talks are underway with the government regarding FIRs lodged against students involved in the protests, and demanded that no case should be registered against any student. "Discussions are going on regarding the cases that have been registered. No case should be registered against any student," he stressed.

Emphasis should be on prevention rather than punishment: Akali Dal

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema called for stronger preventive measures and greater state autonomy to deal with exam irregularities instead of relying only on strict penalties. Cheema said, "The government is proposing to amend the paper leak law to introduce fast-track courts, speedy investigation, fine up to Rs 10 crore and stricter penalties such as minimum jail sentence of three to five years and maximum of ten years. The priority should be to prevent paper leaks in the first place through strong security protocols and clear standard operating procedures (SOPs)."

He said there is a need to amend the anti-paper leak law to be implemented in 2024 and stressed that future efforts should focus on prevention rather than merely increasing punishment. Cheema proposed a collaborative model where individual states conduct their own entrance examinations while the Center acts as a facilitator by setting safety standards and providing technical support.

States should get the right to conduct examinations

He said, "As a federal country, India should empower the states to conduct their own entrance examinations, while the Government of India should provide security standards, SOPs and technical support. Given the vast geographical, linguistic, infrastructural and technological variations across states, a single centralized system remains vulnerable to paper leaks. Since states already provide the infrastructure, staff, police and examination centres, more responsibility should be assigned to them. This is necessary to strengthen cooperative federalism and build trust between the Center and the states. “Reducing vulnerabilities will lead to a more secure testing system and better protect the interests of students.”

Congress attack on AAP

Meanwhile, Congress working president Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging that while the party was protesting against the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, an exam paper was allegedly leaked in Punjab. He said, "This is a very condemnable matter. When the NEET paper was leaked, lakhs of students from across the country protested at Jantar Mantar, which led to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, which was a big victory. However, you were protesting at Jantar Mantar and blaming the BJP government for the paper leak. Meanwhile, the paper was being leaked in Punjab itself. You have put the future of our children in Punjab at risk."

Taking a dig at AAP, Bandala also demanded action against Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains similar to that taken against former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He said, "Instead of pointing fingers at Delhi, you should first expose the truth of what happened in Punjab. Just like the central government took action against its education minister, you should also follow suit and show that you can take strict action within Punjab also."

Questioning the security lapses at examination centres, the Punjab Congress president demanded strict legal action against those involved in the examination leak in Punjab. "Paper leaked; investigating agencies are confirming it. How were papers being scanned inside the exam centers and how were answers being sent to students? Why were jammers not installed? Why are all these details coming out now? You are focusing on Delhi, but you need to address the situation in Punjab... Appropriate action should be taken against all those involved in this matter," he said.

'Paper leak a systemic problem'

Congress leader Anil Joshi highlighted that following massive protests at the national level against the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, the Pharmacy Officer exam with at least 450 vacancies and 25 exam centers has been leaked. Describing the paper leak as a "systemic problem", he raised serious concerns about the future of students in the country. He said, "Students are shocked. After the huge paper leak controversy at the national level, which led to the resignation of the Union Education Minister, now a case has come to light in Punjab. The Pharmacy Officer Recruitment Examination, with about 450 vacancies and 25 examination centres, was allegedly hacked. An organized nexus is said to have solved the papers from outside the examination centers using electronic devices. Political parties are demanding each other's resignation, but where should the students go? Papers “The leak has become a systemic problem.”

Earlier on Saturday, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had also demanded the resignation of Punjab Education Minister Bains, alleging that six paper leaks, including Punjab Teacher Eligibility Test, Class 12 English exam and Pharmacy Officer exam, have affected lakhs of candidates in the state. (ANI)