The Congress is likely to demand the cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2024, a senior leader said on June 21 as the principal Opposition party is all set to raise the issue in the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha that begins on June 24.
As a separate discussion on the subject may not be possible in the short session of Parliament that will conclude on July 3, the party is likely to work out a joint strategy with INDIA partners to raise it during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address to a joint sitting of Parliament.
The party will also demand a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the alleged irregularities, including question paper leak, as well as a complete overhaul of the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducts exams such as NEET. Many of these points emerged during Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with NEET aspirants on June 20.
The senior leader cited above said that while the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu wants NEET to be completely scrapped, several State governments such as Karnataka are opposed to NEET as the only gateway to join undergraduate medical courses.
Promises support
“Thousands of students appearing for NEET are on the streets with their families in the scorching heat and [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi is silently watching the spectacle. I assure them that in this struggle, from the streets to the Parliament, India is with you,” Mr. Gandhi said in a post on X on June 21.
He also released a seven-minute video of his interaction with the NEET aspirants, in which many of them demanded a re-examination and a probe into the alleged irregularities. They also commented on the NTA’s “incompetence” to hold exams.
In the video, Mr. Gandhi, addressing the 24 lakh NEET aspirants, said, ”If government can’t protect you, the Opposition will. This issue I will take up personally in Parliament.” He added that two crore youth had suffered as papers of public exams got leaked 70 times in the past 10 years.
On June 21, the Congress organised countrywide protests against the NEET and demanded that the 24 lakh students, who took the test, be given justice.
‘National problem’
In a post on X, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said question paper leaks had become a national problem under the BJP rule, which had “ruined the future” of crores of youth.
“In the last five years, papers of 43 recruitment exams have been leaked in the country. Paper leak has become a national problem of our country under the BJP rule. India has the largest youth population. Instead of making these youth skilled and capable, the BJP government is making them weak,” Ms. Vadra wrote.
She said that crores of talented students prepare day and night for different exams and parents bear the burden of studies by sacrificing everything. “Children wait for years for a vacancy to come. When a vacancy comes, there is the cost of filling up the form, the cost of going for the exam, and finally the whole effort is wasted due to corruption. The BJP’s corruption is weakening the country,” she added.
Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said the paper leaks exposed the “governance deficit” of the Modi government. “Why are heads not rolling? Who is responsible for these paper leaks? Who is the Modi government protecting? What are the permanent solutions that the Modi government is advancing in order to sort out this problem of regular paper leaks?” Ms. Ghose asked.
Published - June 21, 2024 10:28 pm IST
