NEET verdict not defeat of students but Congress’ irresponsibility, petty politics: Dharmendra Pradhan

NEW DELHI: Taking a jibe at the Congress party over the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) issue, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday that the Supreme Court verdict on NEET is not the defeat of students but that of Congress’ “irresponsible attitude”, “fallacy”, and “petty politics”.

SC refused to cancel NEET UG 2024 exam held on May 5 for MBBS, BDS admissions and ordered the National Testing Agency (NTA) to publish revised results with the physics answer suggested by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi report.

The education minister reiterated that the top court has stated there has not been any breach in the sanctity of the medical entrance exam and it didn’t find any discrepancy in the NEET results after comparing the data of the last three years. He asked if the Congress does not trust the apex decision making body.

Pradhan, who took oath as the education minister last month, attacked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and questioned the paper leaks in exams conducted during the rule of his government. He found it ironic that the leader thinks of Congress as the police officer while it is, according to Pradhan, the originator of corruption.

NEET paper leak allegations

“Is Kharge not aware of the paper leaks that happened before the BJP government came to power in Rajasthan? Why did Kharge keep mum on the paper leaks that happened in his government? Respected Kharge is calling the Congress party the police officer. Congress is the originator of paper leaks and corruption. What can be a bigger irony than calling the originator of corruption the police officer?,” the union minister said in a post in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter).

He also alleged that neither Kharge, nor party leader Rahul Gandhi, nor their party is concerned about students but just themselves. “You are only concerned about your future and the future of one family. The Supreme Court's decision on the NEET issue is not a defeat of students but a defeat of Congress's irresponsible attitude, fallacy and petty politics,” Pradhan said while addressing the Congress party’s president.

Also read NEET revised scorecard 2024 out at exams.nta.ac.in; credentials to check results

The senior leader appointed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the error-free exam is the priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and steps are being taken to make the exams tamper-proof. He reasoned that some exams were postponed due to this and asked if postponement means paper leak.

Dharmendra Pradhan further said, “Kharge ji, you are a senior leader. Such tampering with facts and truth raises a big question on your intelligence. Stop tarnishing the image of India's examination system and playing with the future of students.”