News Analysis India

Tag: REET paper leak

  • Rajasthan Assembly’s Budget session begins, BJP demands CBI probe into REET paper leak

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: The Budget session of the Rajasthan Assembly began on Wednesday with Governor Kalraj Mishra highlighting the state government’s achievements in his address in the House and the opposition BJP demanding a CBI probe into the REET paper leak scandal.

    Despite the governor asking them to sit down, the BJP members, who wore black bands on their arms, kept standing in their places as a mark of protest. Three Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) MLAs also entered the well of the House over the REET paper leak issue and staged a walkout.

    However, there was no disruption and the governor completed his address in nearly an hour. Mishra lauded the state government for its management of the COVID-19 pandemic and said it had emerged as a “role model”.

    During the pandemic, 33 lakh poor families were given financial assistance of Rs 5,500 each with total spending of Rs 1,815 crore, he said. He added that the state also developed the capacity to conduct 1.45 lakh RT-PCR tests and the health infrastructure was strengthened.

    The governor said the state government waived farmers’ loans worth Rs 8,181 crore from cooperative banks. Apart from this, the government settled an outstanding payment of Rs 6,000 crore of the previous government.

    With this, the government has waived farmers’ loans worth more than Rs 14,000 crore in all. On the state government’s ‘I Am Shakti Yojana’ to distribute free sanitary napkins to girls, Mishra said it is the beginning of a change.

    ALSO READ| REET paper leak: Guilty won’t be spared, says Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

    Earlier, there was hesitation in society in talking about menstruation and menstrual hygiene, which resulted in women contracting serious diseases. Now, with this scheme, women will get rid of such problems, he said.

    Due to the compulsory registration of FIRs in the state, Mishra said, women and the weaker sections have been encouraged to come forward to register police complaints.

    In 2017, nearly 33.4 per cent of rape cases were registered through courts. This has now come down to 16 per cent, he said. Similarly, the average time for the investigation of rape cases has come down from 274 in 2017-18 to 79 days now, he added.

    The governor highlighted various other government schemes and programmes like ‘Mukhya Mantri Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana’ and transgender welfare fund, etc.

    The House reassembled after Mishra left. Newly elected Congress MLAs Preeti Shaktawat (Vallabhnagar) and Nagraj Meena (Dhariawad) took oath. They won bye-elections in November last year.

    Later, Speaker CP Joshi made obituary references and the House paid tributes to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar; country’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat; former Rajya Sabha MP Jamna Devi; former Lok Sabha MPs Gangaram Koli, Shyam Sundar Somani, Brijraj Singh and DN Patodiya; former MLAs Jainarayan Poonia, Mahipal Maderna, Mohan Lal Chauhan, Kamal Ram Koli, Jeetmal Jain, Ramkaran Chaudhary, Heeralal Khant, Goverdhan Singh and Surajmal.

    The House also paid tributes to those killed in a road accident at the Jodhpur-Balotra road on November 11 last year and in the Guwahati-Bikaner train accident on January 13 this year. After the obituary references, the House was adjourned for the day.

  • REET paper leak: Guilty won’t be spared, says Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said those involved in the REET paper leak case won’t be spared and he accused the opposition of instigating the youth over the issue.

    “The SOG is doing its work impartially that is why the accused are being caught and new revelations are being made every day,” Gehlot said in a tweet.

    He alleged that the opposition is demanding a CBI inquiry into the case so that the state government could be defamed.

    It is not in the interest of the youth and the government will get all the culprits punished, no matter how influential they are, the CM said.

    “I had said earlier also that the easiest thing for the government to do is to cancel the exam and get it re-conducted. In the interest of the youth, the government gave a free hand to the SOG,” he said.

    He said to the satisfaction of lakhs of candidates, the state government has decided to cancel the REET Level-2 exam and re-conduct it by increasing 30,000 posts.

    The CM said, “The BJP, which has been repeatedly demanding a CBI inquiry on every case, should tell the results of the investigations given to the CBI in the last three years,” he said, citing some of such cases.

  • Row in Rajasthan as education minister’s pic with REET paper leak mastermind goes viral

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: The recent REET paper leak case has turned into a political controversy in Rajasthan after a picture of the mastermind of the paper leak racket with Education Minister and PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra went viral on social media.

    Using that picture, the BJP demanded the resignation of minister Dotasra and also the cancellation of the REET exam. However, Dotasra denied any links with the mastermind saying many BJP leaders are also seen in different photographs with the same man. 

    Dotasra pointed out that the pictures of the REET cheating mastermind have also emerged with a string of BJP leaders like Rajya Sabha member, Kirori Lal Meena, and even with the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla. He also claims that except for a few cases, the REET exam has been successfully organised without any major mishaps. He also asserts that the Rajasthan government has taken a tough stand against those involved in suspicious activities in the examination and has so far suspended 20 personnel including two RPS officers, one RAS, 12 teachers, and a few policemen. 

    ALSO READ | Gehlot govt gets tough over REET exam cheating, 20 officials suspended

    Batti Lal Meena, the mastermind of the racket who played with the future of the over 16 lakh aspirants, is now absconding. His pictures with Dotasra and some national functionaries of NSUI have flooded social media. 

    The Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria alleged that Batti Lal Meena is linked to Congress leaders, said  BJP state Chief Satish Poonia. At a press conference in Jaipur, Poonia said that either Dotasra should resign on moral grounds or Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot should sack him. Demanding that the investigation of irregularities in the REET exam should be handed to the CBI, Poonia said that he will write a letter to Gehlot on this matter as it is related to the future of lakhs of youth.

    The unemployed youth and opposition parties are questioning the transparency of the REET paper. Protests are being held by REET candidates who are levelling allegations of widespread cheating and irregularities during the examinations. In addition, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirori Lal Meena has said that he will prepare a strategy for a big movement after holding talks with a delegation of agitating youth for all examinations including REET. 

    Paper leaks and cheating rackets have become a huge headache for the Gehlot government in recent times. Over the past year, such incidents have rocked five major competitive exams in the state which include the test to recruit SIs, NEET-2021, JEN-2021, librarians of Grade 3 and now the REET Exam for recruiting teachers. 

    The mess in the REET exam has now started to heat up the politics of Rajasthan where two crucial by-polls for the state assembly are due to be held in a few weeks.