Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Thursday, 28 May 2026 launched a sharp rebuttal against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of spreading misinformation over contracts awarded to edtech firm COEMPT EDUTECK PVT. LTD., and pointedly questioning why Congress-governed state universities had themselves engaged the same company.

Context

Rahul Gandhi had raised allegations portraying COEMPT EDUTECK PVT. LTD. as a 'controversial' company and questioned the basis on which government contracts were awarded to it. Dr. Jitendra Singh responded by listing documentary evidence of the firm's engagements with institutions functioning under Congress and non-NDA state governments, arguing that the opposition leader's outrage was 'selective, scripted and purely designed for political headlines against the Modi Government.'

The minister cited five specific agreements or work orders as evidence: a September 2024 agreement with Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences, Telangana; a November 2025 agreement with Bengaluru City University, Karnataka; a March 2024 agreement with Adikavi Sri Maharshi Valmiki University, Raichur, Karnataka; a work order dated 08 June 2023 from Karnataka University, Dharwad; and a public appreciation of the company on the official website of Telangana State Health University.

Policy Backdrop

Procurement of edtech and health-technology services by state universities has drawn periodic scrutiny in Indian federal politics, with opposition parties at both central and state levels raising questions about background verification and vendor selection processes. The pattern of central ministers issuing direct, evidence-backed rebuttals to opposition allegations on tender awards has become a recurring feature of the current political cycle.

India's higher-education procurement landscape involves hundreds of state universities operating under their respective state governments, each conducting independent vendor empanelment. When the same private firm holds contracts across states governed by rival parties, it complicates narratives that frame vendor selection as politically motivated at the central level alone.

Stakeholders and Impact

COEMPT EDUTECK PVT. LTD. is at the centre of the controversy, with its contracts across multiple states now in public focus. State universities in Telangana and Karnataka — both governed by Congress — are directly implicated in the minister's rebuttal, placing their own procurement decisions under scrutiny.

Dr. Jitendra Singh posed three pointed questions to Rahul Gandhi: whether he would now accuse Congress governments in Telangana and Karnataka of collusion; whether he would demand resignations from Congress Chief Ministers; and whether Congress governments had failed to conduct background verification before signing agreements with the same company. These questions are aimed at forcing a consistency test on the opposition's position.

What's Next

Congress has not yet issued a formal response to the minister's specific documentary claims as of the time of this report. Any follow-up statements from the party or references to higher-education procurement norms in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament could shape the next phase of this exchange.

The episode underscores a broader question about procurement scrutiny standards across India's state universities, regardless of which party holds power — a debate that may gain further traction if either side produces additional documentation or if Parliament takes up the issue formally.