REET row spirals, setting question of reckoning for Gehlot govt, Oppn BJP

The principal Opposition BJP, however, believes it has found an issue now that has the potential to generate “anti-incumbency” against the Gehlot government: a question paper leak scandal that has a bearing on the fate of lakhs of unemployed youths in the state.

Over the last fortnight, the Gehlot government has sacked the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education chairman and scrapped the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) level II examination over allegations of paper leak and other irregularities during the exam held last year.

Seizing on the REET scandal, the BJP has taken to the streets in Jaipur and other parts of the state in the last few weeks, demanding a CBI inquiry into the matter, even as the party has accused some leaders and officials close to the CM of being allegedly complicit in what it calls the “biggest scam” that has surfaced during this Congress regime.

“Unemployment is the biggest issue in the state. Unemployed youths can both form or topple a government. REET is not just an examination, it involves the fate of countless families. This is the biggest scam exposed during the tenure of the Gehlot government. We will not rest till a CBI probe is ordered,” Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia told The Indian Express.

The controversy escalated last month after the Rajasthan Police’s special operations group (SOG) confirmed, on 26 January, that a question paper of the REET level II exam was stolen from the education department office two days before the exam.

Police in action against Rajasthan BJP activists who were staging a protest against the state government over REET exam paper-leak in Jaipur. (Express photo by Rohit Jain Paras)

The REET is the biggest government recruitment exam in the state in terms of the number of applicants. After a gap of four years, it was held on 26 September last year, with more than 25 lakh aspirants appearing for its level I and level II exams meant for recruiting government teachers for primary and upper primary classes. The REET level I exam has not come under any paper leak cloud.

To prevent cheating in these REET exams, the Rajasthan government, in a controversial move, had even shut down internet services across the state on the exam day, which had severely inconvenienced the public and drawn fire from various quarters.

Following the confirmation of the REET question paper leak, the Gehlot government initially kept its action targeted at those officials who had the responsibility of safeguarding the question paper and conducting the exams properly. As the row snowballed, it cancelled the REET level II exam and announced that fresh exams will take place in the coming months.

Keeping its guns trained on the Gehlot government, the BJP has however stepped up its attack, asserting that the its agitation forced the Congress dispensation to scrap the REET exam. BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena has accused technical education minister Subhash Garg of being allegedly involved in the REET scam, charging that some of the arrested accused were close to him. The saffron party has also levelled allegations against the Rajiv Gandhi Study Circle (RGSC), an organisation which has Gehlot and Garg as patrons, in the case. Both Garg and the RGSC have rubbished these allegations.

The state Congress has maintained that the REET affair will not queer the pitch for its bid to return to power for a second consecutive time.

“We have already announced that the fresh examination will have 30,000 more posts. Also, no irregularity has been found in REET level I and we will go ahead with its appointments. This is a non-issue that the BJP is raising. Even the aspirants who appeared for REET didn’t want the exam to be cancelled. But they (BJP) have created so much hue and cry…Why should we take the blame for this? We don’t have any involvement,” Rajasthan Education Minister BD Kalla told The Indian Express.

Rajasthan BJP activists during a protest against the state government over REET exam paper leak in Jaipur. (Express photo by Rohit Jain Paras)

Kalla said the Congress would retain power in the next Assembly elections, citing its performance in Assembly bypolls to reinforce his claim. The Congress has won five of seven seats involved in these bypolls held since 2019. It is another matter that Rajasthan, in recent past, has a tradition of voting out the incumbent government after five years.

While CM Gehlot and other Congress leaders have been praising the SOG’s action, the facts that those arrested include Pradeep Parashar, REET’s Jaipur coordinator appointed by the education department, and that the paper was stolen from the education department’s office to be sold for over Rs 1 crore, have fuelled the BJP’s bid to corner the government.

According to police, Ramkripal Meena, the man accused of stealing the question paper, was allegedly engaged by Parashar. And the BJP has been alleging that Parashar is an RGSC member close to Garg.

“If there is a fair investigation, there won’t be any bigger scandal than this in Rajasthan. It is not possible that this could have taken place without political protection. By taking action against education department officials and arresting accused, they themselves have proved it. In October last year, they said there was no paper leak but now they have cancelled the exam. Minister Garg and RGSC are involved…It is not possible that the question paper gets leaked from the strong room without meticulous planning and involvement of insiders,” the state BJP chief alleged.

The raging row seems to have even united the faction-ridden Rajasthan BJP, which has been in the throes of a protracted intra-party power struggle. BJP veteran and ex-CM Vasundhara Raje, who is known to have an uneasy equation with her state leadership, also participated in the party’s protest event in Jaipur on 8 February, underlining its political significance for the saffron party at this crucial stage.