Modi wants youth to make reels, fry pakoras, not ask questions: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday praised student whistleblower Sarthak Sidhant and his associate Nisarga Adhikary for exposing alleged irregularities in the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) on-screen marking system, saying the two youngsters succeeded where major media organisations and investigative agencies had failed. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the youth to keep “making reels and fry ‘pakodas’” but these two youngsters asked questions and found answers too.

Sharing a video of his recent meeting with Sidhant on the social media platform X, Gandhi described the 18-year-old as a symbol of courage and conviction. He alleged that Sidhant and Adhikary had uncovered what he termed a nexus between the CBSE and COEMPT, the company involved in the digital evaluation process for Class 12 board examinations.

Gandhi said the students had demonstrated the power of an informed and questioning youth. Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that the government preferred young people to remain distracted rather than question those in authority.

According to Gandhi, the success of the two students in bringing the issue to light reflected the strength of India’s youth and showed that the country’s future remained in capable hands.

The remarks come amid a controversy surrounding the CBSE’s on-screen marking system, which replaced the traditional method of evaluating answer sheets for Class 12 board examinations. Questions were raised after some students claimed that scanned copies of answer sheets made available by the board did not match their handwriting, triggering concerns about possible answer-sheet mismatches during the digital evaluation process.

Sidhant, who was directly affected by the system, has alleged irregularities in the tendering process used to select the vendor responsible for conducting the evaluation exercise.

The government recently transferred two senior CBSE officials in connection with the controversy. However, the Congress has dismissed the move as an attempt to deflect attention from the issue and has demanded the removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan along with an independent judicial inquiry.

In the video shared online, Gandhi is seen asking Sidhant how he uncovered details related to the alleged irregularities and commending him for undertaking work often associated with investigative journalists.

Following a meeting with Sidhant and his family last week, Gandhi publicly encouraged the student to remain steadfast in his pursuit of accountability.

Sidhant also appeared before a parliamentary panel earlier this week, where he made a presentation on the alleged flaws in the tendering process linked to the on-screen marking system.