Parliament LIVE: No special status for Bihar; Cong, govt spar over NEET
Responding to Opposition barbs, education minister says the government is not hiding anything and the “only one” case of malpractice is being probed by CBI
The Budget Session of the Parliament took off on a stormy note on Monday (July 22) with the ruling BJP and the Opposition parties sparring over the alleged anomalies in NEET exam.
Leading the offensive, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said, “The issue is that there are millions of students in the country who are extremely concerned about what is going on and who are convinced that the Indian examination system is a fraud. Millions of people believe that if you are rich and you have money, you can buy the Indian examination system and this is the same feeling that the Opposition has.”
Hitting out at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Rahul said, “It is obvious to the whole country that there is a very serious problem in our examination system, not just in NEET but in all the major examinations. The minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) has blamed everybody except himself. I don't even think he understands the fundamentals of what is going on here.”
On the other hand, Pradhan informed the Lok Sabha that there is “no evidence of paper leaks in last seven years”.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore asked if the education minister would resign in light of the “severe breach” in the examination process taking responsibility of the irregularities in conduct of NEET exams.
Pradhan flays Rahul
Pradhan hit back, saying, “I am here (post of education minister) at the mercy of my leader, the Prime Minister, whenever (question of) accountability comes, my government is answerable to that.” He said the government is not hiding anything and so far and that “only one case” of malpractice has come to light in Bihar and the CBI is investigating it.
Pradhan condemned Rahul and other Opposition leaders for calling the current exam system “rubbish”. He accused the Congress of withdrawing education reform bills in 2010 “under pressure from lobby of private colleges” and due to corruption.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla jumped to the government's defence. Birla said exam paper leaks have been happening across the country, including the states that are ruled by Opposition parties. The Speaker said it is not proper to raise questions on the examination system.
DMK MP K Veeraswamy demanded scrapping of NEET. Responding to it, Pradhan said NEET was initiated in 2010 by the then government and subsequently twice the issue of NEET had come up before the SC and the apex court upheld the need for a single exam on both occasions. He said the protest against NEET today is for “purely political reasons”.
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