Former Haryana chief minister and leader of the opposition (LoP) Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday slammed the BJP-led Haryana government for rising unemployment in the state, alleging that repeated paper leaks have come as a jolt to the state’s youths.Hooda alleged that nearly 7.5 crore candidates had been affected by paper leaks during the BJP’s tenure. (HT File)Hooda also slammed the shifting of activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar to hospital, terming it an “authoritarian” action by the government. “Everyone has the democratic right to peacefully raise their demands. Instead of listening to his concerns, forcibly removing him is condemnable,” he said.While speaking to the media here, Hooda said the menace of paper leaks had assumed “epidemic proportions” across the country, prompting the Congress to launch its nationwide ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign. “Led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the campaign aims to mobilise public opinion against alleged irregularities in recruitment and competitive examinations,” Hooda said.Hooda alleged that nearly 7.5 crore candidates had been affected by paper leaks during the BJP’s tenure. He alleged that the crisis extended far beyond competitive examinations and reflected a collapse of the recruitment system.In Haryana, Hooda alleged that candidates from other states were being preferred over local youth in Group A and Group B recruitments, while many posts were deliberately left vacant.Hooda claimed that under the BJP government, around 30 examination paper leaks had taken place in the state. At national level, Hooda claimed that over 152 paper leak incidents had occurred across the country and alleged the existence of an organised racket involved in selling examination papers and government jobs.Referring to the NEET controversy, he said the issue had caused distress among aspirants. He also demanded the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, holding him accountable for the recurring controversies.