© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The NEET controversy garners more attention as the opposition continues to slam the Centre. INC leader Kharge slammed PM Modi and questioned his silence on the matter.
Amid a row over the NEET UG 2024 exams, the Centre and the NTA on Thursday told the Supreme Court they have cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses and will be reconducting the test on June 23.
While the Union Education Minister said that the central government is committed to protect the interests of NEET examinees and assures the students that all their concerns will be addressed with fairness and equity, the Congress has questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the matter and asserted that only a Supreme Court-monitored forensic probe can safeguard the future of lakhs of young students. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the Modi government has started “covering up the NEET scam” through Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Let us see what the the government and the oppositions are saying so far.
Every aspect is being looked into. Accountability will be fixed and depending upon the nature of lapse action will be taken. There is no scope for any malpractice or irregularities in the conduct of any exam. We will not tolerate that. The accountability of the National Testing Agency (NTA) will also be fixed if lapses are found.
They have just lost the elections and are now looking for a new issue. We have the facts and misleading students and the public based on lies is not right.
In previous years, the NEET syllabus wasn’t cut down. This year we also aligned the questions with the state boards’ syllabus. Less syllabus and more number of candidates also led to the rise in competition and ultimately increase in the number of top scorers.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, General Secretary, Indian National Congress
As soon as the new BJP government took oath, it again started attacking the dreams of the youth. The arrogant response of the Education Minister on the irregularities in the NEET exam results completely ignores the cries of 24 lakh students and their parents. Does the Education Minister not see the facts available in the public domain?
Does the government also consider the police actions in Bihar and Gujarat and the rackets busted as false?
Is it also a lie that 67 toppers got full marks? The question is, whom does the government want to save in the system by ignoring lakhs of youth and their parents? Shouldn’t the dreams of the youth stop being sacrificed at the altar of this corrupt examination system? Is it not the government’s responsibility to look into the complaints seriously and take action instead of ignoring the students and parents?
The BJP government should abandon its ego and think seriously about the future of the youth and take measures to curb corruption in examinations.
Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader Lok Sabha INC
The Congress Party believes that the BJP government’s attitude towards the ongoing demand for an enquiry into the NEET exam is irresponsible and insensitive. We demand a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the entire scandal which has affected around 24 lakh students. Ordinary families have been forced to cough up amounts close to Rs 30 lakhs due to promises given to them by different coaching centres and examination centres. No enquiry can be a just fair and comprehensive enquiry if it is headed by the NTA themselves… Instead of paying attention to the NEET scam, PM Modi is busy attending oath ceremonies and going on foreign trips. Rest assured, the INDIA alliance will take up the cause of these students because that is our responsibility… Now the INDIA alliance has sufficient strength to bring the government to its knees and make them accountable to the students… It is a mystery why these results were declared on 4th June. It can only point that they knew there was a storm brewing and they wanted to avoid any discussions on the NEET results by declaring them on 4 June when the entire country would be talking about the election results…
Mallikarjun Kharge, president of Indian National Congress
The Modi government has started covering up the NEET scam through the Education Minister and NTA.
If the paper was not leaked in NEET then –
1. Why were 13 accused arrested in Bihar due to paper leak?
Did the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Patna Police not expose the payment of ₹ 30 ₹ 50 lakhs to the education mafia and organised gangs involved in the racket in exchange for papers?
2. NEET-UG cheating racket has not been busted in Godhra, Gujarat?
In which 3 people are involved including a person running a coaching center, a teacher and another person and according to Gujarat Police, transactions of more than Rs 12 crore have come to light between the accused?
If according to the Modi government, no paper was leaked in NEET, then why were these arrests made? What conclusion is drawn from this?
Was the Modi government trying to fool the people of the country earlier or now?
The Modi government has crushed the aspirations of 24 lakh youth.
24 lakh youth appear in NEET exam to become doctors, in which they work hard day and night for 1 lakh medical seats.
Out of these 1 lakh seats, around 55,000 are in government colleges where seats are reserved for SC, ST, OBC, EWS categories.
This time the Modi government has misused the NTA and has massively rigged the marks and ranks, due to which the cut-off for reserved seats has also increased.
It appears that a game of Grace Marks, Paper Leaks and rigging was played to deprive meritorious students from getting government admission at concessional rates.
The Union Government’s attempt to wriggle out of the recent NEET Scam by agreeing to cancellation of grace marks is another admission of their own ineptitude.
It should not be allowed to divert the attention away from the core problems of irregularities and unprofessional conduct of exams, after taking away the right of states. While condemning their incompetence as well apathy towards the agony of lakhs of students, we reiterate that the only solution for this issue is to restore the role of state governments in deciding the method of selection for MBBS courses.
