On the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, questioned the government’s approach to resolving the issue of the examination system in the country.
While addressing the lower house of the Parliament Rahul Gandhi 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. He said, ‘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’. Rahul Gandhi aimed at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and said ‘Minister blamed everyone except himself. He alleged that the Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan does not understand the fundamentals of what is going on.
Responding to Gandhi’s question and allegations about the country’s examination system, the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, ‘A lie will not become truth just by shouting. The fact that the Leader of Opposition says that the country’s examination system is rubbish, is highly condemnable.’ Education Minister asserted that there was no evidence of a paper leak in the last seven years and said that NTA has successfully conducted over 240 exams.
As the opposition sought to corner the government over the issue of paper leaks, Speaker of the House Om Birla said it was not right to raise questions about all exams and that members should hold discussions to develop a better examination system. After the Speaker concluded his remarks, Mr. Gandhi wanted to speak but was disallowed. Following that, Rahul Gandhi and almost the entire Opposition members, including from TMC and DMK, walked out of the House. Congress Deputy Leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi raised slogans demanding the resignation of Pradhan.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a batch of petitions alleging irregularities and malpractices in the conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG 2024, including paper leak.