New Delhi: Following the paper leak controversy around the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical undergraduates and the cancellation of UGC-NET due to "lack of integrity," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, demanded a discussion on NEET in Parliament, adding that the discussion must happen "respectfully."
"Yesterday, all the leaders of the opposition parties had a meeting and it was unanimous that today, we want a discussion on the NEET issue. There should be a discussion on NEET here in the House. I request the Prime Minister that this is an issue of the youth and it should be discussed properly and it should be a respectful discussion. We will do it respectfully. You should also join the discussion, you should also participate because this is a matter for the youth. A message should go from the Parliament that the Indian government and the opposition are talking about the students together," Rahul Gandhi told ANI before entering the Parliament.
Amidst uproar from the opposition benches, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon. LoP Rahul Gandhi raised the NEET issue and demanded, along with opposition MPs, that the matter be discussed. Speaker Om Birla insisted that the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to President's Address be taken up first.
The LoP said, "We wanted to give a joint message to the students of India, on behalf of the Opposition and the Government - that we consider this an important issue. So, we thought that to respect students we will have discussion on NEET today, a dedicated discussion..."
Meanwhile, Aam Admi Party MP Sandeep Pathak said, "What happened in NEET is very unfortunate. It has two sides to it - first, the paper leak, and second, the irregularities in marking and institutional fraud. Nabbing one individual will not be enough. NTA, Union Education Minister, and the PM are responsible for this."
The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned till noon after some members attempted to move to the well of the house.
Notably, for the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 23 registered a criminal case over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination by the NTA and formed special teams to probe the matter.
As per the agency's FIR, certain "isolated incidents" occurred in a few states during the conduct of the NEET (UG) 2024 examination, which was held on May 5, 2024.
The NEET (UG) 2024 Examination was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5, 2024, at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the examination.
An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which led to widespread protests in the country.
The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols, and the functioning of the NTA.
—ANI