Rahul Gandhi meets 17-year-old at center of CBSE marking row
What's the story
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi recently met Class 12 student Vedant Shrivastava, who was at the center of a controversy after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) gave him a wrong answer sheet. The incident occurred during CBSE's first-time on-screen marking system. Shrivastava's viral post on X (formerly Twitter) revealed that he received an answer sheet with handwriting that didn't match his own.
Shared experiences
Vedant and Gandhi laughed at the insults they've received
During their meeting, Gandhi and Vedant spoke about the insults they have faced, including being called "anti-national" and "deep state agents." They also laughed at being labeled "Soros agents," a reference to Hungarian-American investor George Soros. In a 90-second clip from their conversation, Gandhi asked Vedant if he had also been called "terrorists." To this, Vedant's elder brother Siddhant Srivastava replied with a smile: "Yes, yes!"
System controversy
CBSE's on-screen marking system
Vedant's case brought to light the problems with CBSE's on-screen marking system. He had noticed discrepancies between his Physics answer sheet and those of English and Computer Science. The board later said Vedant's concern had been examined, sent him the correct answer book via email, and updated his results accordingly. However, this incident triggered personal attacks against Vedant on social media platforms.
Public support
Backlash on social media
Despite the backlash on social media, Rahul Gandhi stood by Vedant and amplified his post. He 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."
Twitter Post
Rahul Gandhi shares post of chat with student
A revealing chat with my fellow “anti-national Soros agents.”
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 31, 2026
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… pic.twitter.com/5InBxgJv1B
Investigation reveal
Blog post on contract awarded to Coempt Edutech
Adding to the controversy, Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant from Jharkhand wrote an investigation on how CBSE awarded the contract for its OSM system. His blog post went viral, with Gandhi and other leaders demanding an independent judicial probe into the matter. The contractor Coempt Edutech and CBSE have denied these allegations.