Rahul Gandhi writes to Modi, asks PM to lead Parliamentary debate on NEET tomorrow: ‘Govt move to cover up…’

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday seeking a Parliamentary debate on the NEET controversy. The Leader of Opposition stressed the need to safeguard the interests of “24 lakh NEET aspirants who deserve answers” and urged the PM to lead this debate.

“The NEET exam 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 2 crore students. The government's move to postpone other examinations and replace the Director General of the National Testing Agency is a move to cover up the systemic breakdown of our centralised testing system,” the Raebareli MP wrote.

Opposition leaders have repeatedly sought a dedicated one-day debate on the matter this week as the Modi-led government continued with the Motion of Thanks on the President's address to the Parliament. A number of adjournment notices were also submitted in Lok Sabha, and under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha to take up a debate on the issue immediately.

“A message is disseminated to the country, from Parliament. We want to send a message to students that NEET issue is important for the Parliament. So, to send this message, we want the Parliament to discuss this,” Congress leader had earlier said.

Opposition MPs had walked out of the Lok Sabha on Monday as the Speaker refused Gandhi's calls for a one-day discussion on NEET.

Meanwhile reports indicated on Tuesday that the NEET-PG exam was likely to be held this month with question papers being made two hours before the test.

The National Testing Agency has found itself mired in controversy over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam — including claims of a paper leak. The test was originally held in May 5 with 24 lakh candidates and sparked buzz after 67 students scored a perfect 720. The unprecedented number included six people from a Faridabad centre in Haryana — raising suspicions of irregularities and the role of grace marks.

1,563 candidates had initially been awarded grace marks to compensate for loss of time as the exam started late at six centres on May 5. Allegations arose that these grace marks inflated scores, leading to six candidates from a single Haryana centre achieving a perfect 720, along with 61 others. Consequently, the court ordered the cancellation of grace marks and provided an option for a retest. The retest was later held on June 23 with the NTA issuing a public notice with the revised ranks of all candidates on Sunday.

The Centre however maintains that the incidents of irregularities are "localised" and it cannot jeopardise careers of lakhs of candidates who cleared the exam rightfully.

(With inputs from agencies)