Congress questions PM’s silence on NEET controversy, highlighting rackets busted in Bihar and Gujarat

Mallikarjun Kharge, national president of the Congress. File | Photo credit: ANI

The Congress on Friday intensified its attacks on the Union government for irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical programs by questioning the “ silence” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

The opposition party said only a forensic investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court could protect the future of thousands of young students.

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Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the Modi-led government started “covering up the NEET scam” through Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the National Testing Agency (NTA) .

Rackets on display

“If the diary was not leaked in NEET, why were 13 accused arrested in Bihar due to paper leak? Did the Economic Offenses Unit (EOU) of the Patna Police not reveal the payment of ₹30 lakh to ₹50 lakh to the education mafia and organized gangs involved in the racket in exchange papers? » asked Mr. Kharge in an article on X.

“Has the NEET-UG cheating racket not been busted in Godhra, Gujarat? In which three people are involved including a person who runs a coaching center, a teacher and another person and according to the Gujarat Police, transactions of over ₹12 crore have been revealed between the accused? » added the Congress leader.

If there was no paper leak in NEET, as the government claimed, then why were these arrests made, Mr. Kharge asked. ” What conclusion to draw ? Did the Modi government try to mislead the people of the country earlier or now? The Modi government has crushed the aspirations of 24 million young people,” he said.

Fake brands, rankings

The 24 lakh NEET aspirants worked hard day and night to get one lakh medical seats, he noted. “Of these 1 lakh seats, around 55,000 are in government colleges where seats are reserved for SC, ST, OBC and EWS categories. This time, the Modi government misused the NTA and massively rigged the marks and rankings, which also increased the cut-off for reserved seats,” Kharge alleged.

He alleged that “a game of pardons, paper leaks and rigging was played to deprive deserving students of securing government admission at concessional rates”.

“NEET scam is not unique”

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that “NEET under this regime is more like CHEAT – Central Hyped Entrance Admission Test”, but also pointed out that the NEET-UG “paper scandal” is not unique. “Uttar Pradesh has witnessed more than 40 paper leaks during the BJP regime and Gujarat has become the paper leak capital, from where leaks are being orchestrated across the country. Madhya Pradesh is of course well known for the gigantic Vyapam scandal,” he said in an article on X.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also accused the new BJP government of attacking the dreams of the youth soon after taking oath.

“The education minister’s arrogant response on irregularities in NEET exam results completely ignores the cries of 24 lakh students and their parents. Does the Minister of Education not see the facts available in the public domain? Does the government also consider the police actions in Bihar and Gujarat and busted rackets as fake? Is it also a lie that 67 toppers got full marks? The question is: who does the government want to save in the system by ignoring thousands of young people and their parents? » asked Ms. Vadra, in an article on X.

Addressing a press conference on the issue at the party headquarters, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera claimed that “NEET scam is Vyapam 2.0”.

“PM Modi cannot always remain a mute spectator. Why is he remaining silent when the future of 24 million young people is at stake? He asked.