'PM wants youth to keep making reels, fry pakodas': Rahul hits out at PM Modi on CBSE OSM

The government recently transferred two senior CBSE officials following the controversy, a move the Congress has described as an eyewash and an attempt to cover up the issue.

Sidhant, who has been at the centre of the controversy, also made a presentation before a parliamentary committee last week regarding alleged irregularities in the OSM tender process.

In the video shared by Gandhi, the Congress leader asks the student how he uncovered information relating to the alleged discrepancies and commends him for performing the work of investigative journalists.

After meeting Sidhant and his family last week, Gandhi had publicly encouraged the student to remain steadfast in his principles.

Answer-sheet mismatch allegations

The controversy erupted after some Class 12 students alleged that scanned copies of answer sheets uploaded by the CBSE did not match their handwriting, raising concerns about possible answer-sheet mismatches under the digital evaluation system.

The CBSE introduced the OSM system to replace the traditional manual evaluation process for Class 12 examinations.

The board has not publicly accepted allegations of wrongdoing, while the matter continues to draw political attention and scrutiny.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday praised CBSE whistleblower Sarthak Sidhant and his associate Nisarga Adhikary for allegedly exposing irregularities in the board's on-screen marking system (OSM), while accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of discouraging critical thinking among young people.

Sharing a video of his meeting with Sidhant on X, Gandhi alleged that the two youngsters had exposed "collusion" between the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and COEMPT in the implementation of the digital evaluation system for Class 12 board examinations.

"Sarthak is 18 years old, yet, in terms of mindset, courage and principles, he is second to none," Gandhi said.

"He and his associate, Nisarg, accomplished what the country's major media houses and investigative journalists could not: they exposed the collusion between CBSE and COEMPT to the nation," he alleged.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha claimed the students had succeeded where investigative agencies had failed.

"Modi ji wants our youth to keep making reels and frying pakodas, without asking questions or opening their eyes. But these young men did ask questions, and they found the answers too," Gandhi said.

Describing the episode as a victory for India's youth, Gandhi said young people who are "inquisitive, aware and informed" represent the country's true strength.

Congress steps up attack

The remarks come amid an escalating political row over the CBSE's OSM (On-Screen Marking) system.

The Congress has alleged irregularities in the tendering process for selecting a vendor to conduct digital evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets and has questioned the functioning of the system.

Gandhi has demanded the dismissal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and called for an independent judicial inquiry into the matter.