Rahul Gandhi Meets Tender Investigator Sidhant Who Exposed CBSE OSM Row

Sidhant is the second teenage whistleblower in three days to receive public backing from Gandhi amid the growing controversy surrounding the OSM system.

Vedant’s post on X had crossed 2.5 million views and prompted CBSE to admit there had been a scanning mix-up.

Source : X/@RahulGandhi

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Rahul Gandhi met teen whistleblower Sarthak Sidhant over CBSE procurement irregularities.
• Sidhant presented findings of 15 discrepancies in tender documents to Parliament.
• Government transferred CBSE chairman amid probe into marking system procurement.

Leader of the Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday evening met 17-year-old Sarthak Sidhant, whose blog alleged irregularities in the procurement process linked to the CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.

Sidhant is the second teenage whistleblower in three days to receive public backing from Gandhi amid the growing controversy surrounding the OSM system.

The meeting came hours after Sidhant appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education and presented his findings related to the OSM procurement process. It also took place shortly after the Centre transferred the CBSE chairman and ordered an inquiry into the procurement of OSM services.

Rahul Gandhi’s Message To Sarthak

Sharing a post on X, Rahul Gandhi wrote in Hindi, “Sarthak, apne sidhanton pe adig raho,” using the student’s name in a wordplay to say, “Sarthak, stay firm on your principles (‘sidhant’).”

सार्थक, अपने सिद्धांतों पर अडिग रहो।#TenderInvestigator pic.twitter.com/aJoaYev6M8

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 2, 2026

He also used the hashtag “#TenderInvestigator”, referring to the teenager’s scrutiny of tender documents available on the Central Public Procurement portal.

Student Details ‘15 Discrepancies’ In Tender Documents

According to PTI sources, Sidhant delivered a detailed presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education outlining his analysis of CBSE tender documents related to the OSM system.

Members of the committee are currently reviewing the implementation of the system and examining complaints raised by students and other stakeholders.

Ahead of the meeting, Sidhant said his review of multiple tender documents had revealed several inconsistencies.

“There were many discrepancies. I have just compared them. There were at least 15 discrepancies as per my blog. I would like to highlight three or four of them,” he said.

His presentation reportedly focused on changes made to eligibility and qualification requirements across successive tender documents.

Sidhant has alleged that CBSE “rewrote rules” to favour Coempt EduTeck, the company linked to the OSM system. Both CBSE and the company have denied the allegations.

CBSE has, however, acknowledged errors in the OSM system and said corrective steps have been taken over the past week.

Rahul Gandhi Earlier Met Another Student

The latest meeting follows Gandhi’s interaction on May 31 with Vedant Shrivastava, the Class 12 student who discovered that the Physics answer sheet uploaded under his roll number was not his own.

Vedant’s post on X had crossed 2.5 million views and prompted CBSE to admit there had been a scanning mix-up.

Sharing a video of that interaction, Gandhi wrote, “A revealing chat with my fellow ‘anti-national Soros agents’.”

“Vedant and his friends are brilliant, brave young Indians who asked CBSE and the Modi government simple questions but got insults instead of answers. They deserve a bright and secure future. We will make sure they get it,” he added.

In the video, Vedant told Gandhi that he had been labelled a “Pakistani agent” after raising concerns over the answer-sheet issue.

Gandhi responded by joking about the accusations and asked the students, “Were you also called ‘terrorists’? Tell me!”

He then remarked, “Seventeen-year-old ‘deep state agents’! Show their faces… Come on, show the faces of these ‘terrorists’!”

Vedant’s elder brother Siddhant said critics had attempted to portray them as “deep state agents” instead of addressing their complaints.

Teen Whistleblowers Become Faces Of Wider Exam Controversy

Sidhant, Vedant and 19-year-old Nisarga Adhikary, an ethical hacker who claimed to have identified vulnerabilities in the OSM portal, have emerged as prominent faces of the growing backlash against examination-related controversies this year.

Nisarga had earlier said in a blog post that he identified major security flaws in the CBSE portal in February and reported them to CERT-In.

The broader debate has also intensified following the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 over a paper leak, with a re-test scheduled for June 21.

The issue has additionally drawn attention from the Cockroach Janta Party, an online movement demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and planning a protest at Jantar Mantar on June 6.

Rahul Gandhi has separately demanded Pradhan’s removal and called for a judicial inquiry into the OSM controversy.

Pradhan, meanwhile, has said he takes “full responsibility” for the disruptions and assured that there would be no further lapses.