Rahul Gandhi demands discussion on NEET in Lok Sabha

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday (June 28) raised the NEET issue in Lok Sabha along with other Opposition leaders and demanded a discussion on the matter in the house.

Speaker Om Birla insisted that discussion on Motion of Thanks to President's Address be taken up first.

“We wanted to give a joint message to the students of India, on behalf of Opposition and government – that we consider this an important issue. So, we thought that to respect students we will have discussion on NEET today, a dedicated discussion," Rahul, who is the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha told the Speaker.

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 12 noon.

Earlier in the day, several Opposition MPs gave notices in both Houses to discuss the issue.

Congress MPs Syed Naseer Hussain and Ranjeet Ranjan gave notices under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha, while Manickam Tagore gave an adjournment notice on the NEET issue in the Lok Sabha.

Paper leaks show Modi govt’s incompetence: Cong

Under Rule 267, Rajya Sabha MPs can submit a written notice to suspend all listed business in the House, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, "NET and NEET are just the latest examples. The last ten years have seen rampant paper leaks and malfeasance around competitive exams across the country," he said.

At last count, 2.26 crore youth across the country have been impacted by these paper leaks, he said.

"It's reflective of the Modi Government's incompetence, but also of its corruption. An Ahmedabad-based exam conducting company, implicated in several paper leaks, including the infamous UP Police Constable Recruitment Exam that affected 48 lakh candidates, has been receiving repeated patronage from the Modi Government and BJP State Governments across the country," he alleged.

"The UP and Bihar Governments have blacklisted the firm, but even as of October 2023, the Modi Government continued giving them contracts, to the tune of 80 crores," Ramesh alleged in a post.

"Why? Because the firm's proprietor is an ideological and political supporter of the BJP," the Congress leader added.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET-UG was conducted by the NTA on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part in it.

The results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states such as Bihar, besides other irregularities.

The Education Ministry also cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and NEET (postgraduate) examinations after receiving inputs that the exams' "integrity may have been compromised.

Motion of Thanks

BJP MP and former Union minister Anurag Thakur was expected to move the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha on Friday. According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj will second the motion thanking the President for her address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Thursday (June 27).

In the Rajya Sabha, BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi will move the motion on Friday (June 28).

As per convention and parliamentary procedures, after the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha adopt separate motions thanking the President for the address.

The debate on the motion in both the Houses is likely to see both treasury and opposition benches launching sharp attacks on each other.