Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, accusing it of undermining the aspirations of young Indians amid ongoing controversies surrounding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-Undergraduate) exams.
In a series of posts on social media platform X, Vadra expressed her concern and frustration over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exams, held on May 5 by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The exam, conducted at 4,750 centers for nearly 24 lakh students, has been under scrutiny due to accusations of leaked papers and the contentious awarding of grace marks. Notably, an unusually high number of students—67—scored a perfect 720, which has further fueled suspicion.
“As soon as the new BJP government took oath, it again started attacking the dreams of the youth. The arrogant response of the Education Minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) on the irregularities in the NEET exam results completely ignores the cries of 24 lakh students and their parents. Does the Education Minister not see the facts available in the public domain?” Vadra questioned.
She criticized the government for allegedly ignoring the concerns of students and parents, suggesting that the BJP is more interested in protecting certain elements within the system than addressing widespread issues. “The question is, who does the government want to save in the system by ignoring lakhs of youth and their parents? Shouldn’t the dreams of the youth stop being sacrificed at the altar of this corrupt examination system?” she asked.
Vadra urged the government to take the complaints seriously and act decisively to restore trust in the examination system. “The BJP government should abandon its ego and think seriously about the future of the youth and take measures to curb corruption in examinations,” she added.
Supporting Vadra’s stance, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Digvijay Singh called for a thorough investigation into the alleged irregularities. Singh demanded the cancellation of the current NEET-UG exam and its re-conducting under strict, impartial scrutiny.
“My demand is that the entire examination should be cancelled and it should be held as soon as possible and a completely impartial inquiry should be conducted into this matter under the new law passed by the Parliament and the culprits should be given the harshest punishment,” Singh stated in a post on X.
Singh referred to the situation as a “NEET-UG scam,” drawing parallels to the infamous Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh. He emphasized the gravity of the issue, saying, “The scam in NEET (UG)-2024 is extremely serious. This is the gigantic national form of the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, which not only casts doubt on the functioning of the National Examination Agency (NTA) but also shows it to be faulty and full of corruption. Despite the passing of The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024 in Parliament in February 2024 and the enactment of strict laws in this regard, the nationwide scam by NTA in a major exam like NEET conducted for admission to medical colleges raises questions on the entire credibility of the government and the examination agency.”