PM’s silence on CBSE OSM controversy shows he cares more about his govt’s survival than students’ future: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday, May 29, 2026, questioned how Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of India’s largest IT services companies, lost the screen marking (OSM) contract of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to COEMPT Edutek and alleged that bidding norms were diluted in favor of the latter.

He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the OSM controversy.

“…Modi ji, your silence on the CBSE debacle and your inaction against the Education Minister shows the country what you actually care about – not the future of thousands of students but only the survival of your own government,” Mr Gandhi said in a post on X.

Sharing a media report, Mr. Gandhi claimed that CBSE had called for OSM tenders three times before awarding the contract to COEMPT. According to him, there were no bids in the first round, no qualified bidders in the second round, after which the technical requirements were gradually relaxed.

Mr. Gandhi claimed that the scan resolution requirement has been reduced, the requirement for robotic scanners has been removed, and the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) certification requirement has been reduced from Level 5 to Level 3. He also claimed that penalties for errors in answer sheet scanning have also been reduced.

“TCS, India’s largest IT services company, also advanced to the third round. TCS lost. COEMPT, a company with a spectacular failure track record, won,” he said.

Attributing the bidding process to complaints about assessment errors, Mr Gandhi said students had reported “poorly scanned answer sheets, missing pages” and problems with the assessment portal.

He also claimed that teachers had warned CBSE that another one to two years of preparations were needed before the OSM system could be implemented across the country.

Questioning the government’s statement that “due process was followed”, Mr Gandhi said the issue was whether the contract was “honestly awarded to the best company”.

“The future of 18.5 lakh children has been handed over to a company that will be eligible only after the rules change,” he said.

The Opposition leader also hit back at several Union Ministers who alleged that Congress governments in Karnataka and Telangana were using COEMPT services.

“I have demanded an independent judicial inquiry from day one against the BJP Ministers who attacked me for asking questions. Extend this to every contract awarded from CBSE to COEMPT. Our youth deserve the truth,” he said. Gandhi said.