Conduct NEET UG 2024 again in transparent manner: Mallikarjun Kharge

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday demanded that the medical entrance exam NEET-UG be conducted again and all "paper leak scams" thoroughly investigated under the Supreme Court's supervision. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that be it NCERT books or leakage in exams, the Modi government is bent on "destroying our education system". The Congress also took a swipe at the government over the NEET-UG, 2024 counselling session, which was likely to begin in the first week of July, now expected to start by the end of this month.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The whole NEET-UG issue is getting worse by the day. The non-biological PM and his biological Education Minister are adding further proof to their demonstrated incompetence and insensitivity." "The future of lakhs of our youth is simply unsafe in their hands," Ramesh said.

Amid the growing clamour for the cancellation of the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024 over alleged malpractices, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) told the apex court on Friday that scrapping it without any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality would be counterproductive as it could "seriously jeopardise" lakhs of honest candidates. The NTA, which conducts the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses, and the Union education ministry have been at the centre of media debates and protests by students and political parties over alleged large-scale malpractices ranging from question paper leaks to impersonation in the test held on May 5.

In a post on X in Hindi, Kharge said the Modi government has told the Supreme Court that no paper has been leaked in NEET-UG. "This blatant lie is being told to lakhs of youths. Their future is being ruined," Kharge said. The Congress leader pointed out that the education ministry has said that "there have been irregularities or cheating only at a few places" but this is "misleading". The BJP-RSS has promoted the "education mafia" by taking control of the entire education system, he claimed. "Be it NCERT books or leaks in exams, the Modi government is bent on destroying our education system," Kharge alleged. "We reiterate our demand that 'NEET-UG should be conducted again. It should be conducted online in a transparent manner," he said.

Kharge also demanded that all "paper leak scams" should be thoroughly investigated under the supervision of the Supreme Court, and strict action should be taken against the culprits. "The Modi government cannot escape from its misdeeds," he said on X. The Union education ministry and the NTA filed separate affidavits opposing the pleas which have sought the scrapping of the exam plagued by controversy, a re-test and a court-monitored probe into the entire gamut of issues involved. In their responses, they said the CBI, the country's premier investigating agency, has taken over the cases registered in various states.