Cong demands minister's resignation over question paper leak

Opposition Congress today walked out of the Odisha assembly demanding resignation of Higher Education Minister Badrinarayan Patra over frequent leakage of question papers, including that of the ongoing Plus-II Science examinations.
The issue was raised by Congress MLA S S Saluja during the post-lunch session.
Holding Patra responsible for the mess, Saluja and other Congress MLAs demanded a statement from the minister.
The minister, however, did not respond to the demand.
They also sought a ruling from the Speaker to the government on the matter.
Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat asked the minister to give a statement in the House by Monday.

The Congress MLAs who were agitating in the well of the House demanding Patra's resignation walked out of the assembly demanding immediate statement from the minister.

"He should at least assure the House that the question paper leakage will not be repeated," Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan said.
Meanwhile, a day after cancellation of the Physics examination due to leakage of the question paper, the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) today rescheduled the Chemistry examination to March 30.
The re-examination of the Physics paper will be held on March 25.
A four-member team of Crime Branch led by DSP S K Patnaik has begun its investigation into the matter.

Refusing to quit, the minister said, "There is an attempt to defame the government."
Patra also ordered the director of higher education to conduct internal probe into the question paper leak.