Congress intensifies demand to sack Education Minister as CBSE transfers Chairman & Secretary

Congress says the ordering of an inquiry into the procurement of the CBSE’s On Screen Marking (OSM) system proves that irregularities were committed.

New Delhi: As the government transferred the CBSE Chairman and Secretary over CBSE OSM row, Congress on Tuesday stepped up its demand for sacking the Education Minister. Top leader Rahul Gandhi said that the "real culprit" Dharmendra Pradhan should have been removed long ago if Prime Minister Narendra Modi cared about 18.5 lakh students.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul said the action against the CBSE Chairman and the Secretary as well as the setting up of an inquiry committee was not accountability but a "cover-up", as Pradhan remains "safe".

"CBSE Chairman - Transferred. CBSE Secretary - Transferred. A one-member 'inquiry' committee - Formed. And the real culprit, Dharmendra Pradhan - Safe. Officials removed. (The) Minister spared. This isn’t accountability—it’s a cover-up," he posted on X.

He said the demand “remains the same today: Dismiss the Education Minister and conduct an independent judicial inquiry -- these aren’t some one-month-old internal files of the Modi government to be brushed aside just like that. If the Prime Minister cared about the 18.5 lakh CBSE students – Dharmendra Pradhan would have been removed long ago," he said.

General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said, the "Mantri Pradhan" has been presiding over a monumentally corrupt, inept, and incompetent ecosystem that has played havoc with the lives of lakhs of youth and he needs to resign immediately.

"The CBSE Chairman and Secretary have been transferred. Justice requires that the Mantri Pradhan be sacked. The CBSE leadership’s unceremonious exit and the constitution of the one-member committee to investigate the procurement of the CBSE’s On Screen Marking (OSM) system prove that irregularities were committed," he posted on 'X'.

"This is a testament to the ingenuity and skill of Gen Z students - who exposed this scandal online and even presented it to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education under the Chairmanship of Digvijaya Singh today," he said.

Ramesh said the action clearly timed for after the Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting with the CBSE Board is an attempt to "distract and fix accountability on bureaucrats rather than the political leadership".

"It should be remembered that CBSE Chairperson Rahul Singh had been given a two-year extension by the Cabinet Committee on Appointments as recently as November 2025," he said.

Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta were transferred out of the CBSE in the wake of irregularities in the digital evaluation system for the Class XII examination. A one-member committee of S Radha Chauhan, Chairperson of Capacity Building Commission, has also been set up to inquire into matters relating to the procurement of services for the on-screen marking system by the CBSE.