By making their protest singularly against Dharmendra Pradhan; CJP ensures that the beleaguered minister survives !! :::: “Every day or every month there was a scam against UPA Ministers", says Rijiju

By making their protest singularly against Dharmendra Pradhan; the CJP has perhaps ensured that the beleaguered minister survives

This has been hinted by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

"Dharmendra Pradhan isn’t running away… he’s taken steps to fix the problem" - says Kiren Rijiju

“If a fraud is committed by the Minister or the Minister’s staff, then the Minister is responsible…in an autonomous body, if some trouble happens in that autonomous body, then the body is answerable for that,” Rijiju seems strongly defending Pradhan. 

Importantly, Rijiju certainly is not doing so on his own. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister has that way spoken or shared Govt's joint opinion. This also makes clear that at least PM Narendra Modi is not going to oblige anyone to seek Pradhan being replaced as the Education Minister.  

Rijiju said: “The CBSE is an autonomous body. It is a wing of the government, specifically created for a purpose, for the students, exams; the NTA is there…these are bodies that are not directly monitored by the Minister day-to-day".

Calling the demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET leak and the CBSE on-screen marking glitches, “political,” Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Friday that Education Minister “is not running away” from the “mistake,” but has taken several steps “to fix the problem.”

Speaking at Idea Exchange at The Indian Express Friday, Rijiju responded to questions about the demand for Pradhan’s resignation and the anguish caused to lakhs of students forced to re-take the NEET on June 21 or those left in the lurch over the CBSE on-screen marking glitches.

When it was pointed out that the BJP had demanded the resignation of UPA Ministers over allegations of wrongdoing and wouldn’t it have done the same had it been in the Opposition now, Rijiju said: “The CBSE is an autonomous body. 

It is a wing of the government, specifically created for a purpose, for the students, exams; the NTA is there…these are bodies that are not directly monitored by the Minister day-to-day". 

He said that during UPA-2 when the BJP was in the Opposition 12 years ago, “every day or every month there was a scam, scandal, corruption charge against the Minister, Ministry and all.”

“In the last 12 years, there is no direct charge against any Minister or Minister’s staff for any taking of bribes, commission, or wrongdoing, or manipulation of the system to benefit the Minister or Minister’s staff and family. 

When there is a direct link with the Minister then definitely you have to ask for the resignation of the concerned minister. So, the difference that I want to make is that our Ministers don’t run away from responsibility…(during) the Congress…like the then External Affairs Minister, the charge was against him directly. 

The first minister to resign during UPA-I was the External Affairs Minister (Natwar Singh) …then subsequently, all those ministers who resigned…(there were) charges against the Minister or the Minister’s office. 

This (the exam leak) is not a fraud committed by the Education Minister,” Rijiju said.

Pradhan has said that he has taken “moral responsibility”, Rijiju said, and added: 

“I am very clear that in such cases Ministers should not run away. Ministers should fix the problem. And that is what Dharmendra Pradhan ji is doing. 

He has taken numerous steps in the past month. I am confident that the steps taken and results — it will prevent future leaks and any deficiency that was there in the past will be fixed.”

Asked who, on the government’s side, should be held accountable, Rijiju said: 

“To build the confidence of the students and the system, the Chairman and the Secretary of the Board (CBSE) have been shifted; to demand the resignation of the Education Minister itself is political. 

The Education Minister has already said that as the head of the Ministry, he takes moral responsibility; the Education Minister is not running away from the error or mistake whoever has committed. He has rather taken it up as a challenge… to fix the problem.”

ends