CBSE transfers are a cover-up; government. must fire Dharmendra Pradhan: Congress

Congress general secretary in charge of communication Jairam Ramesh. File. | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

The Congress on Tuesday (June 2, 2026) condemned the transfers of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) chairman Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta in the wake of the OSM row as “eyewash and a cover-up”. The party reiterated its demand that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign or be removed.

“The transfer of CBSE chairman and secretary is just an eyewash. Modi should sack Dharmendra Pradhan immediately. Nothing less than that would give a sense of justice to the 18.5 lakh CBSE students,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X.

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“‘Big Breaking’ is not such a whitewash, Real News is Pradhan’s sequel despite all that,” he added.

In a separate post on X, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also termed the move as a cover-up.

“A one-man ‘investigation’ committee – formed. And the real culprit, Dharmendra Pradhan – Safe. Officials removed. Minister spared. That’s not accountability – that’s a cover-up,” Mr Gandhi said, repeating his earlier demand for the minister’s removal and an independent judicial inquiry.

“If the Prime Minister cared about the 18.5 million students of CBSE – Dharmendra Pradhan ji would have been removed long ago,” he added.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh linked the CBSE transfers with student Sarthak Sidhant, who investigated to show how CBSE had changed the terms of reference, with the impeachment before a parliamentary panel headed by Digvijaya Singh.

“This is a testament to the wisdom and skill of Gen Z students – who exposed this scandal online and today also presented their case to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education chaired by Digvijay Singh,” Mr Ramesh said.

“Minister Pradhan is running a highly corrupt, incompetent and unworthy ecosystem that is messing with the lives of millions of youth. He should resign immediately,” he added.

Later in the evening, Mr. Gandhi met Sarthak and his mother at 10, Janpath, the official residence of Sonia Gandhi.

Sarthak, stick to your principles.#TenderInvestigatorpic.twitter.com/aJoaYev6M8

—Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 2, 2026

Published – 02 Jun 2026 19:47 IST