Merely Enacting a Law is Not Enough; Effective Implementation is Essential: BJD

Paperman Media (Bhubaneswar)- While the Central Government has initiated the process of introducing amendments to the existing law in Parliament to prevent question paper leaks across the country, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), reacting to the development, has stated that merely enacting a law is not sufficient and that there is an urgent need to ensure its strict and effective implementation. Besides this, in view of the widespread errors found in the textbooks for Classes I to VIII in Odisha, BJD has demanded the resignation of School & Mass Education Minister Shri Nityananda Gond.

In a press statement issued today, BJD Spokesperson and Media Coordinator Dr. Lenin Mohanty stated that more than 150 examination question paper leaks have taken place across the country during the last 12 years, triggering widespread protests and agitations nationwide. While these incidents have adversely affected lakhs of students and the nation as a whole, the Union Cabinet had recently approved amendments to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and the amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament today by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh. The objective of these amendments is to provide for stricter punishment for irregularities such as question paper leaks.

Dr. Mohanty stated that merely passing a law will not resolve this crisis. To prevent incidents such as question paper leaks and ensure that the guilty are punished, it is essential to guarantee the strict, impartial and effective implementation of the law. He pointed out that in Odisha too, the BJP Government had passed the Odisha Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 in the State Legislative Assembly on 6 December 2024. However, despite 23 question paper leak incidents coming to light during the last two years under the "double-engine" government, not a single person has been punished so far in connection with these cases. This clearly demonstrates that merely making stringent laws is not enough; there is an urgent need to implement them sincerely and take exemplary action against those responsible.

Dr. Mohanty further stated that widespread public outrage has been witnessed across Odisha following the discovery of numerous errors in the textbooks published by the State Government for Classes I to VIII. BJD President and Leader of the Opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Shri Naveen Patnaik, has demanded that School & Mass Education Minister Shri Nityananda Gond accept moral responsibility for the issue and resign from his post.