Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi coming out of Lok Sabha with KC Venugopal. (Express photo)
A day after Rahul Gandhi demanded a probe over media reports claiming “massive breach” of data of candidates who appeared for the NEET this year, today Congress leader KC Venugopal asked the government order an inquiry into the “serious issue”
Venugopal said data leak was a “serious issue of theft of personal data that has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country”. He raised the matter during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha.
CBSE, the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) conducting body, on Tuesday issued a statement and denied the leak on the ground that the data are maintained only in “encrypted format with strict security measures”.
As per media reports, the personal data including names, phone numbers and email addresses of over 2 lakh candidates who appeared for the examination this year were available for a price on some online portals, he said.
The incident also raises questions about the ability of the Central Board of Secondary Education to ensure the
sanctity of the examination process, the Congress MP told PTI, “I would strongly demand that the government order an inquiry into the matter and take action against the people behind this crime.
“I would also request the government to take proper measures to protect the privacy of the citizens of our country
by taking strong measures to curb the data theft,” he noted.
Yesterday, in a letter to CBSE chairperson, Anita Karwal, Rahul Gandhi said, “This is to call your attention to recent media reports regarding the breach of candidate data who appeared for NEET this year. It is alleged that the data is available on certain websites for a price, and the website has leaked data of over 2,00,000 students. This highlights the serious lack of safeguards to prevent data breach and calls on question the ability of CBSE to ensure the sanctity of examination process.”