Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday severely criticised the government over cancellation of NEET-UG exam following a paper leak and demanded that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must be immediately sacked, while also accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remaining silent over the issue. Gandhi also said that those who were involved in leaking the exam must be jailed immediately.
"The entire country knows that the NEET paper was leaked on WhatsApp just two days before the exam... The truth is Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has damaged the core of India," the Congress MP said in a video message on micro-blogging website X (previously Twitter).
Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, further alleged that there is a nexus between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to make money through India's education system and universities.
"There is a nexus of RSS, BJP and those affiliated with them in universities to make money. They have damaged the entire education system of India. This is the reason why papers have been leaked for at least 80 times in this country. The prime minister must immediately sack Dharmendra Pradhan and jail those who are involved in it," Gandhi said.
The cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)- Undergraduate exam, which was held on May 3 across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres, has triggered a massive row across India, with calls being made for Pradhan's sacking. The exam will now be held again on June 21, with the government announcing that it would be held online from next year.
However, the government continues to face the heat over the incident. The case is now being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has arrested the alleged kingpins PV Kulkarni and Manisha Mandhare, and other accused.
Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has clarified that it had only received information regarding the irregularities on May 7 and the inputs were escalated to central agencies after an independent probe.
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