Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) alleged that the company, COEMPT, which carried out the on-screen marking (OSM) exercise for students of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was earlier known as GlobArena and had figured in controversies linked to Telangana board examinations in 2019 and 2023. He demanded a judicial inquiry and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged scam.

“The company that did the OSM for your exams was actually called Globarena. And Globarena has carried out this scam twice before in Telangana, once in the board exam in Telangana in 2019 and after that again in 2023,” Mr. Gandhi said in a video statement addressing students.

“The same OSM-based errors were responsible for death by suicides of 23 young Indians in Telangana,” he added.

Mr. Gandhi posted the video on his X handle and raised questions about the company’s selection. He also asked what, precisely, was the nature of the relationship between COEMPT’s management and the Union government.

The Congress leader alleged that the company’s track record was publicly known and yet, for “some hidden” reason, the CBSE chose it for the assignment.

“It took us 30 seconds to figure out this company was earlier called something else. I am absolutely certain that the people in CBSE and the Government of India were aware of this company,” Mr. Gandhi said, urging students and parents to share the video and seek answers.

“Why and by whom was COEMPT given this CBSE contract? Which procedures were circumvented to give this contract?” the Congress leader asked. He asserted that if his team could discover the company’s background in “30 seconds”, the CBSE could also have conducted a background check.

“The CBSE students and their parents right now are in a lot of stress. They have been traumatised. And the Prime Minister has nothing to say,” he said.

“An independent judicial probe and an SIT are required to find out the real culprits. We stand with the students and we are here to help protect you in any way we can,” Mr. Gandhi added.

Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh, citing a media report claiming that the CBSE ignored the advice of its governing council to first implement OSM as a pilot project, demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

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“If it [the CBSE] had listened, the unnecessary suffering of lakhs of students would have been prevented. Ultimately, the Education Ministry’s arrogance and refusal to heed wise counsel is not surprising. It is a policy that comes top-down from the Mantri Pradhan himself,” Mr. Ramesh said.

On Tuesday (May 26, 2026), Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking intervention in the interest of students.

“A government that cannot manage a simple secondary education exam, let alone causing the disastrous NEET fiasco, has no right to make tall claims of being a ‘Vishwaguru’,” Mr. Venugopal said in a post on X while sharing his letter.