Rahul Gandhi lauded student whistleblowers Sarthak Sidhant and Nisarga Adhikary for raising concerns over the CBSE’s on-screen marking system
June 7, 2026: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday praised student whistleblower Sarthak Sidhant and his associate Nisarga Adhikary for exposing alleged irregularities in the CBSE’s on-screen marking system (OSM) tendering process. Sharing a video of his meeting with Sidhant, Gandhi described the 18-year-old as a symbol of courage and determination, claiming that the students succeeded in uncovering issues that major investigative agencies had failed to address.
The controversy centres on CBSE’s shift from traditional answer-sheet evaluation to a digital on-screen marking system for Class 12 board examinations. Concerns were raised after some students alleged that scanned answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, triggering questions about possible discrepancies in the evaluation process. Sidhant has emerged as a prominent voice on the issue and recently presented his findings before a parliamentary panel.
Using the issue to target the government, Gandhi said young people should be encouraged to question authority and seek answers. He also renewed his demand for an independent judicial inquiry into the matter and called for the removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. While the government has transferred two senior CBSE officials following the controversy, the Congress maintains that the action is insufficient and has described it as an attempt to deflect attention from the larger issue.