Pradhan’s office was unavailable for comment.

When it was pointed out that the BJP had demanded the resignation of UPA Ministers over allegations of wrongdoing and wouldn’t it have done the same had it been in the Opposition now, Rijiju said: “There is a difference. If a fraud is committed by the Minister or the Minister’s staff, then the Minister is responsible…in an autonomous body, if some trouble happens in that autonomous body, then the body is answerable for that.”

“The CBSE is an autonomous body. It is a wing of the government, specifically created for a purpose, for the students, exams; the NTA is there…these are bodies that are not directly monitored by the Minister day-to-day,” he added.

He said that when the BJP was in the Opposition 12 years ago, “every day or every month there was a scam, scandal, corruption charge against the Minister, Ministry and all.”

“In the last 12 years, there is no direct charge against any Minister or Minister’s staff for any taking of bribes, commission, or wrongdoing, or manipulation of the system to benefit the Minister or Minister’s staff and family. When there is a direct link with the Minister then definitely you have to ask for the resignation of the concerned minister. So, the difference that I want to make is that our Ministers don’t run away from responsibility…(during) the Congress…like the then External Affairs Minister, the charge was against him directly. The first minister to resign during UPA-I was the External Affairs Minister…then subsequently, all those ministers who resigned…(there were) charges against the Minister or the Minister’s office. This (the exam leak) is not a fraud committed by the Education Minister,” Rijiju said.

READ | CBSE portal repels DoS attack of 3.8 million packets; over 70,000 grievance applications received

Pradhan has said that he has taken “moral responsibility”, Rijiju said, and added: “I am very clear that in such cases Ministers should not run away. Ministers should fix the problem. And that is what Dharmendra Pradhan ji is doing. He has taken numerous steps in the past month. I am confident that the steps taken and results — it will prevent future leaks and any deficiency that was there in the past will be fixed.”

Asked who, on the government’s side, should be held accountable, Rijiju said: “To build the confidence of the students and the system, the Chairman and the Secretary of the Board (CBSE) have been shifted; to demand the resignation of the Education Minister itself is political. The Education Minister has already said that as the head of the Ministry, he takes moral responsibility; the Education Minister is not running away from the error or mistake whoever has committed. He has rather taken it up as a challenge… to fix the problem.”