PM working on his reel-making skills: Congress on Odisha medical exam paper leak

The Congress attacked the PM Modi government over the alleged sharing of an Odisha medical PG exam question paper on WhatsApp during the examination, saying stricter punishments and fast-track courts alone cannot curb paper leaks.Congress leader Jairam RameshThe Congress on Friday attacked the PM Modi government over the alleged sharing of a question paper from an Odisha medical examination on WhatsApp, saying stronger punishments and so-called fast-track courts alone cannot deal with such cases. The party said there needs to be a wider and more honest discussion on corruption and commercialisation in the education system.Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that while the prime minister was working on his reel-making skills and the Union government was passing its "eyewash legislation" on fast-track special courts, news of another paper leak had emerged from former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's home state, Odisha.In a post on X, Ramesh said a question paper of the Odisha University of Health Sciences' postgraduate examination was found circulating on WhatsApp even as the exam was underway on July 27. "The Congress' consistent stance – in 2024 and now in 2026 – has been that merely mandating stronger punishments for paper leaks or designating courts as 'fast-track' is not sufficient," the Congress general secretary (communications) said."We need to have a larger, more honest conversation on the commercialisation and corruption in our education system. That was the spirit of the student movement, one which the Modi Government must honour," he said. Officials said that amid nationwide outrage over the alleged NEET paper leak, photographs of a question paper of the All Odisha Medical PG Examination were found forwarded on a social media platform on July 27, when the theory exam of a subject for PG students of the 2023-26 batch was underway. Some individuals also claimed that answers were circulated from certain numbers while the test was in progress, they said.An official said the matter came to light when a student of a private medical college in Bhubaneswar, who was allegedly in possession of photographs of the question paper, flagged the issue and said he had received them from a WhatsApp group formed by a student of MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. After learning about the incident on the evening of July 27, Odisha University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor Manas Ranjan Sahoo held a virtual meeting with principals of medical colleges where the PG medical exams were held and suggested tighter security for the remaining exams, MKCG Medical College and Hospital dean-cum-principal Harekrushna Dalai said.Dalai said, "It is not a question paper leak. Had the question paper come out before the exam and reached the students, we could have termed it a leak. But, in this case, the question paper came out from the exam hall." He added, "Despite our routine checking and disallowing of mobile phone sets in the exam hall, we are surprised to find such instances. We wonder what type of electronic devices were used to share images of the question paper."He said an internal investigation was underway to find out what device was used and how the paper was circulated, as the row over the alleged sharing of the paper drew political criticism and prompted tighter checks for the remaining examinations.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 31, 2026 16:15 IST