Thaindian News

Dharamsala, Dec 7 (IANS) The opposition Congress Tuesday staged a walkout in the Himachal Pradesh assembly, demanding proper investigation into the school education board examination scam where over 200 students passed the exam without appearing for it.

The scam came to light when a Class 10 student claimed he got a pass certificate without sitting for the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education examinations.

Police found that 208 students, who appeared as private candidates in the exams in March for Classes 8, 10, 11 and 12, secured first class even without appearing for the tests.

Raising the issue in the assembly, Congress legislators Kaul Singh Thakur, Vidya Stokes and Harsh Vardhan said: “The government is shielding the main accused…so far it has zeroed in only on petty employees.”

They demanded action against top board officials, including then board chairman C.L. Gupta, who retired in October, and board secretary Prabhat Sharma for their failure to check the scam.

Replying to the debate, state Education Minister I.D. Dhiman said the government has started an inquiry and the guilty would not be spared.

While the minister was replying, agitated Congress members raised anti-government slogans and staged a walkout from the house.

State Congress chief Kaul Singh, talking to reporters, demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a sitting Himachal Pradesh High Court judge into the scam.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said 32 people had been arrested so far. “Nobody will be spared and the investigation is going in the right direction,” he said.

The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education has over 4.5 lakh students on its rolls.