On Friday, the Lok Sabha was adjourned until July 1 after Opposition members called for an adjournment motion to halt all business and discuss the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Speaker Om Birla, however, stated he could not allow this as the House was scheduled to discuss the Motion of Thanks on President Draupadi Murmu’s address to Parliament.
With the Opposition refusing to back down, a commotion ensued, leading the Speaker to adjourn the House until Monday. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had earlier urged for a discussion on NEET, emphasizing the importance of a respectful discourse on the matter.
“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 Parliament.
Inside the Parliament, he reiterated the need for a unified message from both the Opposition and the government, emphasizing the importance of addressing student concerns about NEET.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju responded, assuring that the government was prepared for a detailed discussion on any issue raised. He criticized the Congress party for disrupting House proceedings and urged for a more constructive approach.
The call for a NEET discussion follows the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registering a criminal case on June 23 over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams. The CBI has formed special teams to investigate these claims. According to the agency’s FIR, isolated incidents of malpractice were reported during the NEET-UG 2024 examination, held on May 5, 2024.
Conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the NEET-UG 2024 exam saw over 23 lakh candidates across 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 international locations. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved perfect scores, leading to widespread protests. In response, the Ministry of Education has set up a high-level committee of experts to recommend reforms for the examination process, data security improvements, and NTA operations. With Inputs from agencies