Rahul corners govt in Lower House

NEW DELHI, July 22: Amid a huge row over the NEET-UG paper leak case, the opposition Monday castigated the government with Rahul Gandhi claiming students are convinced the country’s entire exam system is a “fraud”, even as Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused the Congress leader and his “cabal” of shedding crocodile tears.
Gandhi led the opposition charge in Lok Sabha on Monday, the first day of the Monsoon Session, saying there is a very serious problem in the country’s exam system and Pradhan has not taken responsibility. “The minister has blamed everybody except himself.” Under fire, Pradhan said there has been no evidence of paper leaks in the last seven years. He tried to corner the Congress and the Samajwadi Party saying, the ground reality on paper leaks during the UPA regime and when Akhilesh Yadav was at the helm in Uttar Pradesh will open a can of worms for both of them.
The issue of alleged irregularities in the conduct of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test 2024 for admission in undergraduate medical courses has also reached the Supreme Court.
Hearing a clutch of petitions on Monday, the SC asked the IIT-Delhi Director to set up a team of three experts that would go into a particular question asked in the examination and submit a report on the correct answer by Tuesday noon when the hearing resumes.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said it is obvious to the whole country there is a very serious problem in the examination system, not just in NEET but in all major examinations.
“The minister has blamed everybody except himself. I don’t even think he understands the fundamentals of what is going on here… the issue is there are millions of students in this country who are extremely concerned about what is going on and who are convinced that the Indian examination system is a fraud,” he said.
“If you are rich and have money, you can buy the Indian examination system,” Gandhi alleged.
“As this is a systemic issue, what exactly are you doing to fix this issue at the systemic level?” he asked Pradhan, who was responding to queries during Question Hour.
A visibly peeved Pradhan said it was unfortunate that the member described the examination system as rubbish.
In response to Congress member Manickam Tagore claiming there have been 70 paper leaks in the past seven years, Pradhan said, “There is no evidence of paper leaks in the last seven years in any numbers.”
Tagore wanted to know about the steps taken to address the issue of exam paper leaks and wondered whether the minister will resign.
In response, Pradhan said, “I am here at the mercy of my leader, the prime minister, and whenever accountability comes, my government is collectively answerable to that”.
Regarding alleged anomalies and malpractices, Pradhan asserted, “We are hiding nothing… everything is on record.”
The CBI is probing alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2024 and has lodged six FIRs, he added. (PTI)