Attacking the central government over the NEET exam issue, the Congress party on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored forensic investigation to protect the future of lakhs of young students.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government of initiating a cover-up of the NEET scam through Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the National Testing Agency (NTA).
“If the paper was not leaked in NEET then — 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 Rs 30 lakh-Rs 50 lakh to the education mafia and organised gangs involved in the racket in exchange for papers?” he said in a post on X.
“Has NEET-UG cheating racket not been busted in Godhra, Gujarat? In which three people are involved including a person running a coaching centre, a teacher and another person and according to Gujarat Police, transactions of more than Rs 12 crore have come to light between the accused?” Kharge asked.
Kharge questioned why arrests were made if the Modi government insists that no NEET papers were leaked.
He pondered whether the Modi government had misled the country’s people earlier or was doing so now. He further slammed the government for dashing the hopes of 24 lakh young people who strive day and night for 100,000 medical seats.
He further claimed that out of these 100,000 seats, 55,000 were in government colleges with reserved seats for SC, ST, OBC, and 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,” the Congress chief alleged.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also took a swipe at the government over the issue. “Looks like NEET under this regime is more like CHEAT– Central Hyped Entrance Admission Test,” he said on X.
On the other hand, addressing a press conference held at the AICC headquarters, Congress leader Pawan Khera likened the “NEET scam” to Vyapam 2.0 and accused the Modi government of attempting to conceal it.
The Vyapam scam, which emerged in 2013 involving the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, saw candidates bribing officials and using imposters to manipulate exam results.
Pradhan’s brazen statement of calling widespread protests, multiple court cases and tremendous outrage by students as “motivated” is like rubbing salt on the wounds of 24 lakh aspirants, whose future is being destroyed by the BJP, Khera said.
“Can the Education Minister deny that a NEET-UG cheating racket has been busted in Gujarat’s Godhra involving three people including a person who runs coaching centre, a teacher and one another, wherein the investigation in the case has revealed transaction worth over Rs 12 crore between students, their parents and the accused?” he questioned.
On Thursday, the Centre and the NTA informed the Supreme Court that they had revoked the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates who had appeared for the MBBS and other related courses’ entrance examinations. According to the Centre, these candidates now have the choice to either opt for a re-test or decline the compensatory marks given to them due to the time lost during the exam.