Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday said the demands being made by the students and the Opposition were justified and that the Union Education Minister should resign immediately.

Speaking to the media in Naraingarh, the former CM said, “Paper leaks are occurring one after another under the BJP government, following which students across the country are agitating for reforms in the examination process. The entire nation is demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and he should accept responsibility and resign immediately. The demands made by the students and the Opposition are entirely justified. However, instead of acceding to them, the government is attempting to suppress the issue through authoritarian tactics.”

Former CM Hooda had reached Naraingarh to express his condolences on the demise of former MLA Rajpal Bhukhri. The former MLA from the Sadhaura Assembly constituency in Yamunanagar had passed away on July 20.

Hooda was accompanied by Ambala MP Varun Chaudhry, Thanesar MLA Ashok Arora, Ambala Rural District Congress president Dushyant Chauhan, former Information Commissioner Ashok Mehta and several other Congress leaders.

Criticising the BJP government over repeated incidents of paper leaks, the former CM said, “The BJP has also turned Haryana into a hub of paper leaks. As a responsible Opposition, the Congress has been consistently raising this issue for nearly 12 years, both on the streets and in the Legislative Assembly. Individuals running job scams were caught, but the government staged a charade of an investigation. Neither was the report ever made public nor was any action taken against the guilty.”

He alleged that both the Haryana and Central governments had been protecting those responsible for paper leaks. In such a situation, he said, it was imperative to hold the government accountable. He further added that had the government, which is now planning to introduce stricter punishments for paper leaks, acted in time, the future of lakhs of students would not have been jeopardised.

Responding to a query regarding Congress Naraingarh MLA Shalley Chaudhary, who was suspended by the party for allegedly voting for the BJP-backed Independent candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections earlier this year, Bhupinder Singh Hooda said she should immediately resign from her post, as she had betrayed the Congress party after securing votes in its name.