NEET aspirants, their parents meet Rahul Gandhi to seek support for re-examination
New Delhi: A group of NEET aspirants along with their parents on Thursday met senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi amid the ongoing row over alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2024.The students met Gandhi at his residence here at 10, Janpath to seek his support in demanding re-examination of the MBBS qualifying paper.
Gandhi met about 15-20 NEET-UG aspirants, minutes after addressing a press conference over the issue.
"We had a satisfying meeting with Rahul ji. He understood the pain of our children," parent of a student said after the interaction with the Congress MP.
"We are demanding re-examination of the NEET-UG paper. Rahul Sir heard our request and assured that he will make all possible efforts to get the re-examination conducted in our interest," a student who met Gandhi said.
The aspirants were accompanied by Congress' student wing National Students' Union of India (NSUI) president Varun Choudhary who orchestrated the meeting.
The NEET-UG aspirants have been demanding re-examination of the test after reports of irregularities and paper leak cropped up at many test centres in Bihar and Gujarat.
The students have demanded that a fresh examination be conducted by an agency other than the National Testing Agency (NTA), raising questions over its ability to conduct such examinations after another examination UGC-NET was cancelled.
The Ministry of Education on Wednesday cancelled UGC-NET conducted by the NTA following inputs that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised.
Launching a scathing attack on the Centre over the irregularities, Gandhi during the press meet had said that the main reason for paper leaks is that educational institutions have been captured by the BJP and its parent organisation RSS and paper leaks will not stop unless that is reversed.
"It was being said Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped the Ukraine-Russia War and Israel-Gaza war, but he is either not able to stop exam paper leaks or doesn't want to," Gandhi said.
He added that Modi has "psychologically collapsed" post-elections and will struggle to run a government like this.
He also said that the Opposition will raise the exam paper leaks issue in Parliament, asserting it will pressure the government to take action and bring the guilty to book.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education on Thursday said it is awaiting a report of Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit on the irregularities in conduct of NEET in Patna and will take further action on basis of that. The ministry also summoned NTA DG Subodh Kumar Singh to discuss the issue further.
