Nagpur: The Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak rocked the state legislative council on Monday, with opposition MLCs demanding a CBI probe and accusing the Mahayuti govt of presiding over a systemic collapse of the examination machinery.A discussion under calling attention motion was allowed by the chairperson, with Opposition members demanding that all house business be set aside for a dedicated debate on the paper leak that forced postponement of the exam, barely a day before it was scheduled.Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve said, “We already have the example of NEET paper leak whose epicentre was in Maharashtra. In this background, there was a need for the govt to be cautious about future exams.” Danve said TET was a qualifying exam for anyone who wants to be a teacher and the state education department was guilty. He said, “The govt says it has done good governance. I say there is zero governance.”Congress MLC Sudhakar Adbale demanded a CBI investigation into the TET paper leak and strict action against the guilty. Party MLC Satej Patil said TET was a Supreme Court-mandated exam and the state bore full responsibility for conducting it transparently. “It is the state’s misfortune that the govt cannot conduct this exam transparently for 6 lakh candidates. Whether it is Pune municipal corporation paper, NEET, or CBSE, the govt should probe who is behind these paper leak cases.” He demanded all house business be suspended for a discussion solely on the paper leak.Congress MLC Abhijit Wanjarri said the exam cancellation at the last moment had put a question mark on the future of lakhs of candidates. “Around 6 lakh candidates across 1,028 centres were affected. This is a serious failure of the state’s examination system,” he said, adding major flaws were visible from paper preparation to reaching exam centres. He demanded an independent review of the examination process and an urgent decision on setting up an examination commission.State education minister Dada Bhuse assured the house that a detailed account of the paper leak would be presented and said govt’s position was to take strict action against the guilty.Police have identified a Bihar resident, Bijender Gupta of Samastipur, as the suspected mastermind and dispatched teams to Bihar, UP, Delhi, and Haryana to dismantle what investigators believe is an interstate syndicate involved in paper leaks across Odisha, MP, and Bihar over the past 25 years.The postponement affected over 6 lakh candidates across 1,028 centres statewide, including 17,072 candidates at 35 centres in Nagpur district. The Maharashtra State Examination Council has said a fresh date will be announced separately and candidates will not have to submit fresh applications or pay additional fees.
