NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday criticised the government for using force on students protesting against the alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the national-level examination for admission to undergraduate medical programmes.
Raising the issue soon after the House assembled, Kharge said it concerns the future of lakhs of students.
“You have given me an opportunity to put forth my views about this paper leak and NEET examination scam. This is a matter concerning students, which involves the future of lakhs of children. I am speaking about their future. And for that, today at Jantar Mantar, thousands of children have gathered there, a lathi charge has taken place there. The government is trying to beat them, trying to crush and suppress them,” he said.
He also took a dig at the treasury benches as they strongly disputed his claims.
“Donation theft is definitely there, all their supporters are sitting over there,” Kharge said, referring to the alleged theft in Ram Temple donations.
Amid the din, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan adjourned the House for a brief period.
Speaking about the issue outside Parliament, Kharge said that if the government could not conduct examinations, it should step down.
“This is not an attack on students but on democracy. People come to Delhi to flag their issues. They are being lathi-charged and threatened. The government should think about them. It is harassing students. Unemployment is increasing while examinations are being ruined. They don’t deserve to be in power,” Kharge said.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that despite many incidents of paper leaks, the government had not taken any action against anyone.
“Prime Minister Modi is the most youth-hostile Prime Minister in India's history - so youth-hostile that he can't even demand the resignation of a failed Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. 152 paper leaks. 7.5 crore students victimised. And not a single guilty person punished. Who got the punishment? The hardworking youth,” he posted on Twitter.
Gandhi said that the students had raised valid questions but were being beaten.
“And when these children raised legitimate questions about education, they were met with batons and detention in response. The criminals who leaked the papers roam free -- and the students raising valid issues are dragged around, beaten. This government isn't just failing the youth, it's pouncing on them,” he also wrote.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanded a discussion on the country’s flawed education policy, including recurring paper leaks.
“Instead of lathi-charging students, the BJP government should review its policies and failures. First, the NEET paper was leaked, the examination was cancelled, and now there are reports of irregularities even in the re-NEET. We were told that the Prime Minister himself would monitor the process. Despite that, why and how is all this happening? How are paper leaks occurring repeatedly?” her post on X read.
She further said there should be a detailed discussion on the issue in Parliament and that the Prime Minister must listen to the concerns of crores of young people and answer their questions.