Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the NEET-UG exam 2024 row and urged for a debate in Parliament over the matter.
Notably, the Congress-led INDIA bloc has been alleging scam in the NEET-UG exam.
In his letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Gandhi wrote, “I am writing to request for a debate in Parliament on NEET. As you are aware, the Opposition’s request for a debate on this issue was denied in both Houses of Parliament on June 28th. Yesterday, the Opposition had requested for a discussion on this issue again. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Om Birla) had given assurance to the opposition that he would discuss the matter with the government.”
“Our aim is to engage constructively to find a way forward. At this moment, our only concern is the welfare of nearly 24 lakh NEET aspirants across India,” he said.
Stating that lakhs of families have made tremendous personal sacrifices to support their children, the LoP in Lok Sabha said, “For many, the paper leak is a betrayal of a lifetime dream. Today these students and their families are looking up to us, their public representatives, to take bold and decisive steps to resolve the issue.”
He said the NEET examination deserves immediate attention because it has exposed the “deep rot” in our higher education system.
“The past seven years have seen over 70 paper leaks, affecting over two crore students. The government’s move to postpone other examinations and replace the Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) is a move to cover up the systemic breakdown of our centralised testing system,” Gandhi said.
Asserting that the students deserve answers, he said, “A parliamentary debate is the first step towards rebuilding and restoring their faith. Given the urgency of the matter, I request the government to facilitate a debate in the House tomorrow. I believe that it would be fitting if you were to lead this debate in the interest of the students.”