BJP, RJD trade charges after arrest in NEET paper leak case

Patna: The BJP and RJD on Thursday engaged in a sharp war of words after Delhi Police arrested Santosh Kumar Jaiswal, allegedly linked to the NEET-UG paper leak case and said to be associated with the RJD.

Santosh, a resident of East Champaran, is purportedly a former RJD national secretary. He is accused of duping students and their guardians by promising medical college admissions and access to NEET question papers in exchange for amounts ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

Earlier, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had accused the NDA govt of shielding criminals after the NEET was cancelled following the paper leak controversy. “Exam papers are leaked repeatedly and the NDA govt is playing with the future of over 2 million students,” Tejashwi had said.

Reacting to the arrest, BJP spokesperson Kuntal Krishna targeted the RJD and alleged the party had a history of protecting corrupt elements.

“The party whose national president was in jail under charges of corruption, whose basic philosophy is to patronise corruption and where all kinds of criminals and scamsters get patronage is called the RJD. Delhi Police arrested Santosh, who used to dupe innocent students on the pretext of providing them with the NEET examination question paper, and he is alleged to be the kingpin of the gang,” Kuntal said.

The RJD rejected the BJP’s allegations and claimed Santosh had long been removed from the party after his alleged activities surfaced elsewhere.

RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said, “Who else but the govt is responsible for paper leak of such an important exam. In fact, BJP is diverting people’s attention as the NEET paper leak has roots in former CM Nitish Kumar’s home district Nalanda as well as in other BJP-ruled states like Rajasthan and Gujarat. Take action against anyone found guilty.”

“In fact, BJP leaders’ names are cropping up in this paper leak and just to divert the issue, BJP is playing blame game,” Gagan added.