Congress seeks debate in Parliament on NEET chaos
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a debate in Parliament on the controversy over medical entrance exam NEET.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a debate in Parliament on the controversy over medical entrance exam NEET. Gandhi’s letter to Modi comes a day after he attacked the BJP government in Lok Sabha over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination that has taken the country by storm.
Gandhi said,”I am writing to request for a debate in Parliament on NEET. As you are aware, the Opposition’s request for a debate on this issue was denied in both Houses of Parliament on June 28. Yesterday, the Opposition had requested for a discussion on this issue again. The honourable Speaker of the Lok Sabha had given assurance to the opposition that he would discuss the matter with the government.”
Calling the alleged paper leak a “betrayal of a lifetime dream” Gandhi said that “lakhs of families have made tremendous personal sacrifices to support their children.”
He added that the students and families are “looking up to us, their public representatives to take bold and decisive steps to resolve the issue. The NEET examination deserves immediate attention because it has exposed the deep rot in our higher education system.”
But there was no clarity on whether there will be a day=long debate and discussion on the issue.
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In his letter, Gandhi said that the aim is to engage “constructively to find a way forward” saying that the “only concern is the welfare of nearly 24 lakh NEET aspirants across India.”
“The past seven years have seen over 70 paper leaks, affecting over 2 crore students. The government’s move to postpone other examinations and replace the Director General of the National Testing Agency is a move to cover up the systemic breakdown of our centralised testing system,” he added.
He said,”Our students deserve answers. A parliamentary debate is the first step towards rebuilding and restoring their faith. Given the urgency of the matter, I request the government to facilitate a debate in the House tomorrow. I believe that it would be fitting if you were to lead this debate in the interest of the students.”
The controversy surrounding the NEET UG and UGC NET examinations in 2024 has escalated into a significant issue, marked by allegations of paper leaks, inflated scores, and administrative irregularities. Starting with the uproar over NEET UG results on June 4, subsequent events including the cancellation of UGC NET and the postponement of other exams have questioned the credibility of the National Testing Agency . Amid political criticism and legal petitions, the government has initiated investigation by CBI and dismissed the head of NTA .