"There is no evidence of the paper leak in the last seven years" :::::::: Case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out : Govt tells JD-U lawmaker in Lok Sabha

"There is no evidence of the paper leak in the last seven years,"  Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. 

When Congress MP B Manickam Tagore questioned if the minister will consider resigning amid the massive row, Mr Pradhan replied, "I am at the mercy of my leader, whenever accountability comes, the government is collectively answerable to that."

Pradhan said he has the support of the people in his constituency and does not need a certification of intelligence from anyone in Parliament. "Lies will not become truth if you shout. The country's examination system has been called rubbish. 

There cannot be a more unfortunate statement by the Leader of the Opposition. I condemn this."

The Education Minister then took a "remote control" jab -- a swipe the BJP routinely uses to target the Manmohan Singh government. "In 2010, three Bills for education reforms had been introduced by their minister Kapil Sibal. One of them was to prohibit unfair practices. 

What was their problem? Under whose pressure was that Bill withdrawn. Was it due to the pressure of private medical colleges? And they are asking us questions" he said.

Responding to the Opposition's allegations, the minister said the NTA has conducted more than 240 exams and over 5 crore students have appeared in them. "There is no evidence of the paper leak in the last seven years," he said, adding that the Centre's is "hiding nothing".

The case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out, the Modi government categorically told JD-U lawmaker in Lok Sabha in a written reply. 

Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Special Category Status for plan assistance was granted in the past by the National Development Council (NDC) to some States that were characterized by a number of features necessitating special consideration. 

These features included (i) hilly and difficult terrain, (ii) low population density and/or sizeable share of tribal population, (iii) strategic location along borders with neighboring countries, (iv) economic and infrastructural backwardness and (v) non-viable nature of State finances. 

The decision was taken based on an integrated consideration of all the factors listed above and the peculiar situation of the State, he told JD-U MP Ramprit Mandal answering a question.

Earlier, the request of Bihar for Special Category Status was considered by an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which submitted its Report on 30th March, 2012. 

"The IMG came to the finding that based on existing NDC criteria, the case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out," the Minister said.