Congress targets Odisha BJP over Medical PG exam leak

Alleging a systemic failure, Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das claimed the recurring crisis of leaked examination papers has become inseparable from BJP governance. His comments follow the circulation of images from the July 27 medical postgraduate exam, intensifying pressure on the Mohan Charan Majhi administration to move beyond legislative optics.

Editorial·August 1, 2026·reads: 739

Congress targets Odisha BJP over Medical PG exam leak

The controversy erupted when images of the General Surgery paper for the MS/MD 2023-26 batch appeared in WhatsApp groups during the exam. Das characterized the incident as a predictable outcome of a government that prefers intimidation over operational reform. He argued that simply passing the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill—which recently cleared the Rajya Sabha amid an Opposition walkout—fails to address the root causes of the breaches. Instead, he called for the government to dismantle the specific networks facilitating these leaks.

This incident arrives on the heels of the national NEET-UG scandal, which previously forced the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. While the Centre defends its new legislation as a necessary strengthening of the legal framework to curb malpractice, critics remain unconvinced. Opposition leaders maintain that the move is a reactionary measure designed to suppress student protests rather than a genuine effort to secure the integrity of the examination system.