The Congress on Friday asserted that its guarantee of freedom from exam paper leaks is not just aimed at punishing the culprits behind them but also to stop any such incidents from occurring in the first place.

Congress general secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said the party has promised that it will bring new laws which will ensure the highest standards of honesty and fairness in every step of the examination process.

The Congress on Thursday gave "five guarantees" for youths, if voted to power, and termed them "yuva nyay". These included filling of government vacancies, apprenticeships, freedom from government recruitment exam paper leaks, social security for gig workers and a startup fund for youths.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, "Yesterday, Congress announced 5 Yuva Nyay Guarantees to secure the future of the nation's youth by addressing issues which are causing distress to crores of young people. Today, the BJP’s distortionists have sprung into action!" "One of our guarantees is Paper Leak Se Mukti. We aim not just to punish the culprits of paper leaks, but also to stop any paper leaks from occurring in the first place," the Congress leader said.

"We will bring new laws which will ensure the highest standards of honesty and fairness in every step of the examination process – from paper setting, printing, transportation, administration, and invigilation -- both for paper-based and computer-based examinations," he said.

Ramesh claimed that the current approach of the BJP government in dealing with the issue of paper leaks is "clearly insufficient".

"In the last 7 years, more than 70 paper leaks have wreaked havoc on the futures of over 2 crore aspirants despite paper leak laws in many states. Most recently in Uttar Pradesh, we saw 50 lakh aspirants writing the police recruitment exam affected by the leaked paper, despite a paper leak law in place," he said.

"For the Yuva who spends years preparing for these exams, and committing time, effort, and financial resources towards the hope of a better future, it is crucial to ensure papers are not leaked. Punishing the criminals is necessary but secondary. Paper Leak Se Mukti is our commitment to each one of those hard-working aspirants," Ramesh asserted.

The Congress on Thursday also promised a "rozgar revolution" in the country, saying it is committed to ensuring justice to youths by offering them a guarantee of employment if it comes to power in the Lok Sabha elections.

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