Chemistry paper leak: Poojary demands resignation of education minister

Mangaluru, Mar 31: Senior Congress leader B. Janardhana Poojary on Thursday joined many leaders who have demanded that Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar resign owning moral responsibility for the second PU Chemistry question paper leak for the second time.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Poojary said that if Mr. Ratnakar does not resign on his own, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should expel him from Cabinet as the question paper leak has dented the image of the Congress government to a large extent.

Rebuffing Bharatiya Janata Party's attacks on the Congress, Mr. Poojary said that question paper leaks had been happening since 2001 and it had happened in 2012 when BJP's Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri was the Education Minister. Mr. Kageri did not resign then. Mr. Poojary said that the question paper leak, that too for the second time, has cast an extra burden on students and parents, who are worried about the future of their wards. If Mr. Ratnakar has any sense of responsibility, he should resign. Suspension of 40 officials of the PU Department is of no use as the same officials would be back after some time in the same posts, Mr. Poojary said.

Training his guns on the Criminal Investigation Department which is investigating the question paper leak on March 21, Mr. Poojary asked what the investigating agency had been doing since 10 days. Responding to Home Minister G. Parameshwara's reported statement that investigation cannot be completed in one day, Mr. Poojary retorted: “it is not just one day, but 10 days have passed and the investigating agency has not even submitted an interim report.”