Stepping up his attack on the Centre over the issue, Gandhi said CBSE students and their parents are traumatised but Prime Minister Narendra Modi “has nothing to say”.
Also Read: CBSE OSM controversy: After Vedant’s viral complaint, board acknowledges answer sheet error
In a video put out on his social media accounts, Gandhi said unbelievable details are emerging about the Class 12 CBSE exam.
“COEMPT, the company that did the On-Screen Marking (OSM) for your exam, was actually called Globarena. Globarena has carried out this scam twice before in Telangana, once in the board exam in Telangana in 2019 and after that again in Telangana in 2023. The same OSM-based errors were responsible for the death by suicide of 23 young Indians in Telangana,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
“This was all public information. It was known to everybody and yet for some hidden reason the CBSE chose the same company again. It took us 30 seconds to figure out that this company was earlier called something else. I am absolutely certain that the people in the CBSE and in the government of India were aware of this company’s background,” Gandhi said.
He urged CBSE students and their parents to share his video and ask the questions posed by him to the government and the prime minister.”First, why and by whom COEMPT was given the CBSE contract? Second, which procedures were circumvented to give COEMPT this contract? If we could figure out in 30 seconds that this company earlier had a different name, why didn’t the CBSE figure this out and why were there no background checks done. Third, and most important –what is the exact relationship between the COEMPT management and the Modi government,” Gandhi said in his video statement.
An independent judicial probe and an SIT are required to find out the real culprits behind this “scam”, Gandhi said.
Making similar points in his post in Hindi accompanying the video, Gandhi said the CBSE examination results have been marred by massive irregularities, leaving millions of students across the country along with their parents in a state of shock.
Also Read: CBSE OSM row: Congress says ‘ Mantri Pradhan’ s insistence’ on holding on to his office shameful
“And (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji? As always — no answers, no accountability, and no shame,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
The company entrusted with this responsibility — COEMPT — had previously committed these very same misdeeds in Telangana in 2019, operating under the name ‘Globarena’, Gandhi claimed.
The name changed but the intent remained the same; the nature remained unchanged, he said.
Its history was a matter of public record, yet the contract was awarded regardless, Gandhi claimed.
The future of 1.85 million students was handed over to such a company, and yet, no one seemed to care, he said, adding “this is not a mistake — it is a calculated conspiracy”.
“There are some critical questions that demand answers: Why was the CBSE contract awarded to COEMPT, and at whose behest? Which specific rules and procedures were bypassed to award this contract to this company?”
“Given that COEMPT had previously been embroiled in controversies while operating as Globarena, how did the CBSE remain unaware of this? Why were background checks not conducted? What, precisely, is the nature of the relationship between COEMPT’s management and the Modi government?” Gandhi said, posing questions to the government.
“We demand the immediate constitution of an independent judicial inquiry and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to unearth the truth behind this entire scam and expose the real culprits,” the former Congress chief said.
“To our Gen Z friends taking the CBSE exams — no one will be able to steal the fruits of your hard work or your future. We will get to the bottom of this conspiracy and root out this corruption once and for all,” Gandhi asserted.
The Congress on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the government over the CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system issue, and said the “Mantri Pradhan’s insistence” on holding on to his office and the “Pradhan Mantri’s protecting him is shameful”.
The opposition party also reiterated its demand that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must immediately resign.
The row escalated after some Class 12 students alleged scoring discrepancies and also that the scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising concerns over possible answer-sheet mismatch in the OSM system.
CBSE sources said the board is treating all complaints on top priority.
