Lucknow: Stepping up its counter-attack against the Samajwadi Party over the NEET paper leak, BJP has recalled two controversial decisions taken by previous Samajwadi Party govts in UP — the repeal of Uttar Pradesh’s anti-copying law by Mulayam Singh Yadav govt in 1994 and the cancellation of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) examination following a paper leak in 2015 during Akhilesh Yadav’s tenure.BJP has highlighted the two incidents in a video to show how SP’s stand on students’ stir on NEET paper leak contrasts with what happened during its govts. “History is witness to the difference between the Samajwadi Party’s words and actions. This political drama under the guise of student welfare won’t work anymore,” BJP posted on its X account on Monday evening.BJP’s attack is in response to SP siding with the Congress in backing the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests against the NEET paper leak that led to the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.The Anti-Copying Act was introduced by the Kalyan Singh govt in 1992 to curb mass cheating in UP govt schools and universities. The law treated the use of unfair means in examinations as a serious, non-bailable offence and empowered police to conduct surprise checks and make arrests at examination centres. But Mulayam govt, which came to office in 1993, scrapped it and fulfilled a key election promise in the elections.The legislation had then become a major political issue, with critics accusing it of being excessively harsh.The UPPSC paper leak happened in March 2015 when copies of the General Studies-I paper surfaced on WhatsApp minutes before the examination. Investigators later alleged that leaked papers were sold to candidates for between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.Following a preliminary Special Task Force report, the Akhilesh govt cancelled the examination, affecting around five lakh aspirants. The decision triggered widespread protests in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Lucknow and Kanpur, with students demanding a CBI probe and action against those responsible.Speaking on the video on SP govts, UP BJP general secretary Ram Pratap Singh said the party would continue to highlight SP govt’s failures on examination integrity.“We are with the students, which is why Modi is bringing a stringent law against paper leaks. The resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan reflects our party’s ethics. That was not the case with the opposition, which has always worked against the interests of students and youth,” he told TOI.SP accused the BJP of deflecting attention from current problems by repeatedly invoking past incidents. “History can always be debated, but accountability for the present cannot be outsourced to the past,” SP spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said. “If BJP believes previous govts made mistakes, the question is what concrete and effective measures the present govt has taken to ensure examination papers are never leaked,” he said, adding that youth are looking for solutions rather than political blame games.Gandhi said SP has always opposed cheating, paper leaks and examination mafia. “Anyone involved in such crimes must face the strictest legal action. At the same time, govt’s primary responsibility is to build a system where such leaks do not occur,” he said.
