Congress MP Deepender Hooda on June 28 said that the Leader of the Opposition and MP Rahul Gandhi’s mic was switched off when the latter raised the issue of alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam as it concerns the country’s youth.
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Mr. Gandhi raised the issue of NEET in the Lok Sabha after the House proceedings began at 11 a.m. “We thought that we would give a message to the students from both sides. The Opposition Benches as well as the government side,” he said while asking for a separate discussion on NEET.
Mr. Gandhi also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a “respectful” and good discussion in Parliament on the issue.
However, Speaker Om Birla said he could not allow it as the House was about to discuss the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on June 27
Mr. Hooda, addressing reporters in the Parliament complex said many aspirants in Haryana has been affected because of the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination in the State. “The maximum number of paper leaks have been in Haryana,” the MP added. Mr. Hooda is a Congress MP from Haryana.
Mr. Hooda further said that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is running away from his responsibilities, and that the Opposition demands a discussion on the issue.
Mr. Pradhan on June 28 said the government is ready for a discussion on the issue but that should take place as per tradition and by maintaining decorum. “The government is ready for every kind of discussion, but everything should happen following norms and maintaining decorum. The President spoke about the exam in her speech yesterday and it shows the government’s intention that we are ready to face any issue,” Mr. Pradhan said outside Parliament.
The NEET-UG was conducted by the NTA on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part in it. The results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states such as Bihar, besides other irregularities.
The Education Ministry also cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and NEET (postgraduate) examinations after receiving inputs that the exams’ “integrity may have been compromised.
