Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Maharashtra government over the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak in Bhiwandi, declaring that the state's education system has been reduced to ruins and that the absence of accountability has allowed a thriving trade in examination fraud to operate without fear. The party made its position clear through a hard-hitting editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

Maharashtra Named Primary Epicentre

The SS(UBT) editorial alleged that Maharashtra has emerged as the foremost epicentre of what it described as a national mockery of education and students' futures. The party drew a pointed comparison with states historically criticised for mass cheating — Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — arguing that Maharashtra has 'gone a step further' by institutionalising government-sponsored paper leaks.

'States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were once notorious for mass cheating and government-sponsored copying. Maharashtra has gone a step further. This new trade of government-sponsored paper leaks is running in full swing,' the editorial stated.

The party also linked the TET scam to the earlier NEET paper leak controversy, noting that the roots of last month's NEET paper leak were traced back to Maharashtra. It alleged that the gang active in the NEET case operated across Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Latur, and Nashik, while Bhiwandi has now emerged as the centre of the TET scam.

Fadnavis in the Crosshairs

The editorial trained its fire specifically on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, accusing him of treating the deteriorating state of Maharashtra's examination system as a trivial matter. The party argued that the Home Department is being 'heavily utilised for political gains' rather than protecting institutional integrity.

'Maharashtra desperately needs a full-time Home Minister. If Fadnavis cannot do justice to the portfolio, he should voluntarily step down,' the editorial said, adding that it doubted whether such political morality remained among the state's ruling elite.

The SS(UBT) further alleged that roughly half of the state's police force is currently deployed to guard defected legislators, rather than safeguarding examination processes. It claimed that paper leaks cannot circulate freely on social media without 'strong backing from the ruling dispensation.'

A Pattern of Impunity, Critics Argue

The editorial characterised the recurring leaks not as isolated failures but as evidence of a 'well-entrenched racket consisting of the paper leak mafia, intermediary brokers, and corrupt officials.' It argued that the Mahayuti government's repeated recourse to investigation announcements amounts to little more than buying time.

'Such papers cannot leak 24 hours before an exam and circulate freely on social media without strong backing from the ruling dispensation. The chain behind the NEET paper leak shares links with the BJP, and those responsible for the TET leak belong to the same political ecosystem,' the editorial alleged.

The party also drew a pointed contrast between political defections — where legislators reportedly receive ₹50 crore each, according to the editorial's claim — and the devastation wrought on millions of aspirants by paper leaks. It demanded the immediate resignation of Maharashtra's Education Minister, asserting that 'given the gravity of the situation, the Education Minister has no right to remain in his post for even a single day.'

TET and the Stakes for Aspiring Teachers

The SS(UBT) underscored that the TET is not an ordinary examination — it is the mandatory qualifying test for those seeking to enter the teaching profession. Scams and malpractice in this process, the party said, represent 'shocking evidence of how terribly Maharashtra's future has fallen into the hands of organised mafias.'

The editorial concluded that Maharashtra — a state that historically laid the foundation for education and social reform in India — is now witnessing its 'systematic dismantling,' and that the youth are being left to pay the ultimate price for the failures of those in power. With the TET exam cancelled and no credible accountability in sight, the political pressure on the Fadnavis-led government is set to intensify.