The second round of counselling for admission to the MBBS and BDS courses through the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) commenced after a delay of seven hours at the Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal on Tuesday.
Though the process was supposed to start at 8 am, it commenced only around 3 pm due to “technical problems”.
Enraged candidates raised slogans against chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), alleging irregularities in the seat-allotment process. Several among them were also heard citing the multi-crore Vyapam scam, which concerned massive irregularities and corruption in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board.
“The entire process was delayed on purpose, just so that non-domicile students can get admitted to private colleges in the state,” a woman candidate from Ujjain alleged.
GS Patel, the director of medical examination, said the government was simply following the Supreme Court’s directive in this regard. The counselling process would continue till midnight to make up for lost time, he added.
Candidates, however, did not buy Patel’s argument. “Now they claim to be following the court’s order. But if they had completed the process on September 30, many students from Madhya Pradesh would have been benefitted because the apex court specifically ordered status quo as far as already-admitted candidates are concerned,” one of the agitating students said.
{{/usCountry}}Candidates, however, did not buy Patel’s argument. “Now they claim to be following the court’s order. But if they had completed the process on September 30, many students from Madhya Pradesh would have been benefitted because the apex court specifically ordered status quo as far as already-admitted candidates are concerned,” one of the agitating students said.
{{/usCountry}}The apex court on Monday directed the DME to complete the process by October 7, and allow non-domicile students to participate. But local candidates argue why students from Maharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan and Delhi should be allowed in Madhya Pradesh when they are not permitted to sit for admission tests in those states.
Santosh Sharma, a parent, sought the chief minister’s immediate intervention to “protect the future” of the state’s 1,700 candidates. “The problem lies in the affidavit submitted by the APDMC before the apex court, stating that candidates from Madhya Pradesh were not enough to fill the seats. This is why students from other states were allowed to seek admission here,” he alleged.