Mangaluru: Following the disgraceful incident of PUC Chemistry question paper leaking for the second time, Senior Congress leader B Janardhan Poojary has demanded the resignation of Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Rathnakar on moral grounds.

In a news conference, Poojary on Thursday attacked Rathanakar for his statement that 40 officials have been kept under suspension following the incident.

“Suspension is nothing but less salary and leave. Is this the punishment for people who have left lakhs of students in lurch. Does it not earn a criminal case of the suspects,” he questioned adding that suspended officials will come back to work after some time.

He said that the two episodes of question paper leak have brought disgrace to the government as well as the Congress.

“If you resign today, you will set an example like Lal Bahadur Shastri who resigned following a train accident and Madhav Rao Scindia resigned after a plane crash,” he said adding that either the CM must order Rathnakar to resign or if he does not, the CM must expel him.

However, lashing out at the BJP for its demand stand on the issue, Poojary said that such incidents have happened during tenures of all parties and even in 2012 such episodes had happened when BJP’s Vishweshwara Heggade Kageri was the Education Minister.

Poojary said that the first leak happened on March 21 and the second in a span of 10 days. The CID has not got any clue about the ones behind these leaks.

Attacking Home Minister G Parameshwar for his statement that probes cannot be completed in one day, Poojary reminded Parameshwar that it has been ten days.