The Lok Sabha was adjourned till July 1 on Friday as opposition members sought the acceptance of an adjournment motion to suspend all business and discuss matters related to the paper leak controversy surrounding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
As the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and the opposition MPs demanded that the NEET issue be discussed, Speaker Om Birla said that the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address be taken up first. Amidst uproar from the opposition benches, Birla adjourned the house till Monday.
Rahul Gandhi, before entering the Parliament, told ANI that all opposition leaders had agreed in a meeting the previous day to discuss the NEET issue in the House.
“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,” he said.
Criticizing the Congress party for halting the proceedings of the House, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the government was ready for discussion
“On behalf of the government, we have made it clear that we will give detailed information on whatever issue is raised. We assure the members once again that the Government is always ready for discussion. But by halting the proceedings of the House, the tendency adopted by the Congress party – of not letting the House function – is not right…I condemn this. I appeal that this should not happen again,” Rijiju said.
The NEET (UG) 2024 Examination was conducted by the NTA on May 5, 2024, at 4,750 centers 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, leading to widespread protests in the country.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a criminal case on June 23 over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET examination by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and formed special teams to investigate the matter.
The Ministry of Education has constituted a high-level committee of experts to recommend reforms in the examination process, improvements in data security protocols, and the functioning of the NTA.
(With ANI input)