Anger in country over NEET exam will 'reverberate inside Parliament': Cong slams govt

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday reiterated its demand of a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the NEET exam issue, and asserted that the anger in the country over the matter will "reverberate inside Parliament as well".

The opposition party also demanded the removal of the National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General and claimed that the BJP government's attitude towards the ongoing demand for an inquiry into the NEET examination is "irresponsible and insensitive".

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that in the last 10 years, the Modi government has ruined the future of crores of youth through paper leaks and rigging.

"Grace Marks was not the only problem in NEET exam. There has been rigging, papers have been leaked, corruption has taken place. The future of 24 lakh students appearing in the NEET examination is at stake due to the actions of the Modi government," the Congress president said.

A nexus of exam centre and coaching centre has been formed, where the game of "pay money, get paper" is being played, he alleged.

"The Modi government cannot escape its responsibility by placing the responsibility of its actions on the shoulders of NTA. There should be a CBI investigation into the entire NEET scam. If the Modi government is not ready for a CBI inquiry then the Congress party demands a fair inquiry under the supervision of the Supreme Court," Kharge said in a post.

After investigation, the culprits should be given the harshest punishment and lakhs of students should be given compensation to save their year from being wasted, he said.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Gogoi also slammed the government over the issue.

"We demand a Supreme Court monitored investigation into this entire scandal which has affected around 24 lakh students," he said.

"The Congress believes that the BJP government's attitude towards the ongoing demand for an inquiry into the NEET exam is irresponsible and insensitive...Ordinary families have been forced to cough up amounts close to Rs 30 lakh due to promises given to them by different coaching and examination centres," he said.

"We believe that no inquiry can be a just, fair and comprehensive if it is headed by the NTA itself. The NTA chairperson should be removed and Prime minister Narendra Modi, who likes giving exam advice to Class 10 students, should not forget the mental anxiety caused to these undergraduates," Gogoi said.

Instead of paying attention to the "NEET scam", he is busy attending oath-taking ceremonies and going abroad on foreign trips, he said.

"Rest assured, the INDIA bloc will take up the cause of these students because that is our responsibility," Gogoi said.

"Now the INDIA bloc has the sufficient strength to bring the government to its knees and make them accountable to the students," he said.

Gogoi credited Rahul Gandhi for taking up the issue of the NEET exam soon after the Lok Sabha results were declared.

"It is a mystery why these results were declared on June 4. It can only point that they knew a storm was brewing and they wanted to avoid any discussion on these NEET results on June 4 when the entire country would be talking about the election results," he said.

"We are waiting for the Parliament session, we will raise the voice of 24 lakh youth of the country inside Parliament. The anger over the NEET exam in the country will also reverberate inside Parliament," he said.

The Congress leader also hit out at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for rejecting allegations of paper leak in medical entrance exam NEET-UG.

Gogoi said this government's modus operandi has always been to dismiss such charges while the prime minister maintains silence.

Pradhan on Thursday rejected allegations of paper leak in the medical entrance exam, saying there is no evidence of it.

"There is no evidence of paper leak in NEET-UG. The allegations of corruption in NTA are unfounded, it is a very credible body," Pradhan told reporters.

"The Supreme Court is hearing the matter and we will abide by its decision. We will ensure no student is at a disadvantage," he added.

The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the decision to give grace marks to 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates for admission to MBBS, BDS and other courses has been cancelled and they will be given an option to take a re-test on June 23.

If these candidates do not wish to take up the re-test, then their earlier marks, sans the grace marks, will be given for the purpose of results.