Bathinda: Student, youth, farmer and employee organisations and Congress staged separate protests outside Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) in Faridkot against alleged paper leaks and the recent controversy surrounding the examination for pharmacy officer posts.Demanding the resignations of Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains and health minister Dr Balbir Singh, the protesters accused the AAP govt of double standards. “AAP backed the demand for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET-UG paper leak, yet remains silent on paper leaks within Punjab,” they said. Prominent Congress functionaries present at the demonstration included former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, former ministers Rana Gurjit Singh and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, former MP Mohammad Sadique and former MLAs Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon and Raminder Awla. Accusing the AAP govt of undermining local youth, Channi claimed jobs were being diverted to candidates from Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi. “The state’s examination system has completely collapsed,” he alleged. Representatives from Punjab Students Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha, Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, Vichar Manch and Democratic Mulazam Front launched a morcha at the university entrance, demanding strict action against those involved in paper leaks and high-tech cheating. The university authorities have already denied that the July 19 examination for pharmacy officer posts was leaked. They have said candidates engaged in cheating using electronic gadgets supplied by a gang in exchange for Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 13 lakh per candidate. Police have so far arrested 28 candidates and seven gang members following the recovery of Bluetooth-enabled micro-devices shortly after the exam began across centres in Faridkot, Kotkapura and Ferozepur. Cong rift: Warring absent The Congress protest highlighted ongoing factionalism within the Punjab unit. While Charanjit Singh Channi led Wednesday’s protest in Faridkot, promotional posters surfaced for another party demonstration scheduled for July 31. These posters featured Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and LoP Partap Singh Bajwa heading the upcoming rally, with Channi’s name added alongside. A few days back in Barnala, Channi, MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Bajwa and Rana Gurjit Singh visited injured sanitation workers together, while Warring visited them separately later the same evening.
