CBSE OSM row: Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s tenure speaks of his lust for power, says Congress

Congress President Jairam Ramesh. File | Photo credit: Murali Kumar K

The Congress on Saturday (June 6, 2026) said Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s continued tenure only speaks to his lust for power, accusing him of “incompetence” in running a “compromised ministry”.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that if the Education Ministry shows more integrity in organizing the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations, the entire debacle that has stressed thousands of students across the country could have been avoided.

“The skeletons in the education ministry’s closet are pouring out fast and furious,” Mr. Ramesh said in his post, citing media reports that COEMTP Edu Tech had submitted two cyber security certificates to CBSE to meet the cyber security requirements of the competition.

“It is now reported that both of these certificates were tied to other clients. One expired (almost two years old when submitted to COEMPT) and the other was audited as a temporary application, not a production application,” he added.

“The CBSE, instead of pointing out this scam, awarded the contract to COEMPT at exorbitant rates,” the Congress leader alleged. He said ethical Gen-Z hackers had exposed critical cyber security flaws till February 2025, which the CBSE denied until it was no longer possible.

“In fact, in a final admission that the COEMPT portal has been irretrievably compromised, CBSE has now stopped using the COEMPT platform and has created its own website for the revaluation process,” he claimed, citing media reports.

Mr. Ramesh said if the ‘Mantri’ Pradhan’s ministry had shown more integrity in organizing the CBSE exams, the On Screen Marking System (OSM) and the revaluation process, the entire debacle that has stressed thousands of students and their families could have been avoided.

“Mantri Pradhan’s continuation in office only speaks to his shameless lust for power. He has been completely exposed as an arrogant and incompetent hacker running a deeply compromised ministry,” Mr. Ramesh alleged.

The Congress on Friday (June 5, 2026) said only Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan could answer the question of why CBSE was “forced to adopt the expensive OSM system at exorbitant rates” and said he must resign so that an independent inquiry can take place.

Amid the controversy over the OSM system for Class 12 exams, the CBSE on Friday (June 5, 2026) extended the last date for submission of applications for verification and revaluation of Class 12 answer sheets by one day to June 7.

The move comes after several students flagged issues in accessing answerers and applying for verification and revaluation on the CBSE service portal, which was launched on June 2.

Published – June 6, 2026 3:57 PM IST