Ranchi, Feb 20: The Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) admitted that the Class 10 science board exam paper was leaked before the examination held on Thursday morning.

JAC President Natwa Hansda announced that the exam will be cancelled now in the entire state.

Following the leak, state Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari convened a high-level meeting on Thursday afternoon. The government has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.

Reports suggest that the science question paper had been circulating widely on Wednesday and was available for sale. Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato met JAC officials on Wednesday with a copy of the leaked paper.

When the exam began at 9.45 a.m. on Thursday, the questions matched exactly with the leaked version. The matter was immediately reported to the state government, prompting swift administrative action to cancel the paper.

Hansda stated that a high-level committee would be formed to probe the leak.

This is not the first time that a paper has been leaked in Jharkhand before the examination. Earlier, there were strong rumours about the Hindi exam paper being leaked.

Mahato had also submitted a memorandum regarding this to the JAC Secretary.

At that time, the council dismissed the claims, issuing a general notice urging students to ignore rumours. The notice emphasised JAC’s commitment to conducting fair and confidential examinations and warned against anti-social elements spreading misinformation to exploit students and parents financially.

The Class 10 board exams in Jharkhand commenced on February 11, with 1,297 examination centres set up across the state for 4,33,890 students.

Earlier the examination was to end on March 3, but according to the changed schedule, the exams will be conducted till March 4. However, now due to the cancellation of the Science exam paper, it will be further extended.

New Delhi, Feb 20: A meeting of Chief Ministers of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states got underway in the national Capital on Thursday, hours after the grand swearing-in of new Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her Cabinet ministers at the city’s iconic Ramlila Ground.

The meeting was attended by the CMs of BJP-ruled states and those ruled by key constituents of the NDA alliance — TDP and JD(U).

TDP President and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu attended the meeting, however Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was conspicuous by his absence.

The meeting was expected to focus on governance strategies, policy coordination, and preparations for upcoming elections in NDA-ruled states.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah was among the first to arrive at the Imperial Hotel, the venue for the meeting of CMs of NDA-ruled states.

The BJP’s allies attending the NDA meet extended congratulations to the new Delhi CM on the resounding victory of the party and attributed the success to the party’s commitment to public issues and PM Modi’s mass appeal.

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta also attended her first NDA meeting, presided over by PM Modi.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi greeted the newly sworn in CM and her team of six ministers.

PM Modi said that the team beautifully mixes vigour and experience and will surely ensure good governance for Delhi.

Taking to social media after the oath ceremony, PM Modi wrote on X, “Congratulations to Smt. Rekha Gupta Ji on taking oath as Delhi’s Chief Minister. She has risen from the grassroots, being active in campus politics, state organisation, municipal administration and now MLA as well as Chief Minister.”

He said he was confident that she would work for Delhi’s development and wrote, “I am confident she will work for Delhi’s development with full vigour. My best wishes to her for a fruitful tenure.”

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday dismissed the Uttar Pradesh budget presented by the Yogi Adityanath-led government, calling it the “second last budget” of the BJP in the state.

Criticising the government’s approach, Yadav claimed that none of its budgets, including the latest one, had a clear vision or direction for Uttar Pradesh.

“This is the ninth budget of this government, and it is their second last,” the SP chief said.

After this, the final budget will be presented, and then the people will get a chance to choose a new government, he said, adding that the budget has no connection with the promises made in the BJP’s manifesto.

“The government has presented budgets without any roadmap on how to take the state forward. There is no clarity on how the needs of the common people will be addressed,” he stated.

He also took a dig at the BJP’s repeated claims of presenting the “biggest budget”, saying that every new budget is naturally larger than the previous one.

“Every time they present a budget, they say it’s the biggest one. This statement can be made by any government because every budget is bound to be bigger than the last,” he remarked.

Yadav described the budget as hollow, claiming it was all noise with nothing substantial inside.

“This is not a budget, it’s an empty drum that makes a lot of noise but has nothing inside. The people feel like no real budget has been presented, just sermons, while they keep wondering when the actual budget will come,” he said.

The former UP chief minister further alleged that the budget has left different sections of society disappointed.

“Farmers’ hopes have dried up, women are even more worried about managing household expenses, the unemployed see nothing but darkness ahead, and traders are feeling the deepening impact of economic slowdown. Even BJP ministers and MLAs who were thumping desks in the Assembly are now anxious because they will have to face the anger of people in their constituencies over inflation and unemployment,” he said.

Taking a swipe at the government’s treatment of artisans, the Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj said, “The weavers’ looms have fallen silent. The people are now asking how much budget has been allocated for the ‘Jumla Ministry’.”

He also took potshots at Adityanath’s speech in the Assembly, noting that while the BJP opposed Urdu, the CM himself used several Urdu words in his address.

“Some people even oppose Urdu in Urdu itself,” he quipped.

Listing several words used by the CM, including ‘badnaam,’ ‘bakhsha,’ ‘gunehgar,’ ‘haseen,’ and ‘duniya,’ he asked whether these were not Urdu words and extended his argument by questioning the Hindi equivalents of words like ‘rail,’ ‘engine,’ ‘steering,’ ‘clutch,’ and ‘platform.’

Referring to a book on the Kumbh Mela study by Harvard University, Yadav said he had previously sent an English version of the book to Adityanath for decoration purposes and was now sending a Hindi version so that he could actually read it.

On the BJP’s election promises, the SP chief alleged that the government had failed to deliver on its commitments.

“The BJP manifesto promised free electricity for farmers’ irrigation needs over the next five years. Nine budgets have passed, but has this promise been fulfilled? They also pledged to set up a Rs 25,000 crore agro-infrastructure mission in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, but what happened to that?” Yadav asked.

They announced a Rs 1,000 crore Bhama Shah Price Stabilization Fund for crops like potatoes, tomatoes, and onions, yet nothing has materialised, he said.

Yadav accused the BJP of failing to support farmers despite promising Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantees.

“They promised to provide MSP to farmers, but where is it? We had built mandis to ensure fair prices for farmers, and this government has destroyed them. Not a single new mandi has been built under the BJP rule,” he claimed.

He further pointed out that the BJP had assured sugarcane farmers that their dues would be paid within 14 days, failing which they would receive interest.

“The government only talks about the amount it has paid so far, but never discloses the outstanding dues. It also never tells farmers how much the price of sugarcane has increased,” he said.

Yadav said that the BJP’s budget had left people disillusioned.

“After nine budgets, the government still has no answers for the unemployed, struggling farmers, or common citizens. The countdown for a new government has begun,” he said.