Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday shared another late-night video and thanked everyone for their "insightful suggestions" after he promised to fast-track paper leak cases, amid continued protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi over irregularities in the NEET (UG) examination.
"Thank you, friends! I had a chance to meet you all yesternight. The response to the video I posted was immense. Thanks to everybody for providing their insightful suggestions. We would keep connecting in a positive way. Thank you, everyone," he said in his video message on photo-video sharing app Instagram.
This is the second consecutive day when the prime minister has shared a video amid the ongoing CJP protest. In his previous video message, he promised a bill for stricter action against paper leaks, while stressing that such cases are not small issues and affects the lives of lakhs of people.
Calling paper leak incidents 'extremely painful', PM Modi said several steps have been taken over NEET issue, but asserted that he still not satisfied, which is why he gave directions to concerned authorities to set-up fast-track courts. He also congratulated authorities for successfully conducted the NEET re-examination.
Union Cabinet passes anti-paper leak
Following PM Modi's Thursday's video, the Union Cabinet on Friday passed a draft bill for stricter punishment in paper leak cases. The draft bill, aimed at replacing the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, was passed after he chaired a cabinet meeting at the Parliament House complex in the national capital.
The draft bill will be tabled in the Parliament next week. It proposes a 10-year imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rs 10 crore for those involved in paper leak and cheating incidents.
Despite this draft bill, the CJP and the opposition have pressed for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, but that is unlikely to happen, as the entire cabinet is backing him, reported news agency PTI, citing sources.
PTI also reported that the Centre is taking up all issues linked to reforms within the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, for medical admissions, and is likely to iron them out in a month or two.
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