Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi seeking abolition of NEET

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to abolish the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical education and revert to the previous system in which states conducted their own entrance tests.

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In a second letter to Modi, Banerjee expressed her reservations, saying that no discussion on sharing of water of Teesta river and the Farakka Treaty should be taken up with Bangladesh without the involvement of West Bengal.

“I strongly urge upon you to consider and take immediate steps to restore the previous system of conducting this examination by the state governments and abolish the NEET examination,” Banerjee wrote. “This will help restore normalcy and confidence of the aspirant students in the system.”

In the letter, she also wrote that the allegations of a paper leak, officials taking bribes and grace marks require a thorough, clean and impartial probe. “Such instances jeopardize the career and aspirations of students who look forward to get admission into these medical courses. Such instances not only compromise the quality of medical education but adversely affect the quality of medical facilities and treatment,” she wrote.

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The letter also stated that prior to 2017, the states and the Centre used to conduct their own entrance examinations. The decentralized system was later changed to a unitary and centralized system of examination by the central government to take control of all admissions to medical courses without any involvement of the states.

“The present system has led to massive corruption,” she added.

The Bharatiya Janata Paryt, however, mocked Banerjee while launching a veiled attack against the Trinamool Congress government over irregularities in recruitments. “She wants to revert to the old system? Which old system is she referring to? The one in which lists of (undeserving) candidates were sent to secure their jobs?” asked Samik Bhattacharya, a BJP spokesperson.

The second letter came in the wake of the bilateral talks held between Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi on Saturday. “It seems that water sharing issues relating to the Ganges and Teesta rivers may have been discussed during the meeting. Such unilateral deliberations and discussions without consultation and opinion of the state government is neither acceptable nor desirable,” Banerjee wrote.

“The chief minister can’t change protocol. International bilateral talks are held between the heads of two countries. Only constitutional experts can say whether a chief minister should be invited to that meeting as a special invitee. But there are no examples in which the TMC has attended such meetings of international importance or related to internal security,” Bhattacharya retorted.