Parliament session: 'NEET' jeers by opposition as Pradhan takes oath
The inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha began on Monday, with MPs taking their oaths in the Parliament. Notably, the swearing-in of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was met with protests and sloganeering by opposition leaders. As Pradhan came forward to take his oath, the leaders of the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) started chanting "NEET NEET," amid a nationwide outrage over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and the now-canceled UGC-NET exam.
Opposition targets government over NEET-UG controversy
The first session of the Lok Sabha is anticipated to be stormy, with a resurgent opposition likely to confront the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government. Key points of contention include the election of the speaker and allegations of paper leaks in NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams. To recall, the NEET-PG entrance examination, which was scheduled to take place on Sunday, was postponed indefinitely—adding fuel to the controversy.
Pradhan's statement on exam irregularities
Amid national outrage over the irregularities, Pradhan last Thursday said that the National Testing Agency—which conducts the exams—will be strengthened and those responsible for the paper leaks will be penalized. Thousands of medical aspirants have been protesting across the country since the NEET-UG results were released, with a staggering 67 students had achieving the perfect score of 720 marks. Over 1,563 candidates were also awarded grace marks to compensate for the "loss of time," but these marks were later cancelled.
13 arrested in NEET-UG paper leak case
Last month, Bihar Police's Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) arrested 13 people as part of its probe into the alleged paper leak in NEET-UG 2024. They included examinees, their parents, and alleged mastermind Sikander Prasad Yadvendu. During questioning, one of the arrested students, Anurag Yadav, confessed that the leaked question paper handed to him matched the actual exam question paper. Yadav admitted that he received the leaked copy from his relative, Sikandar, who is a junior engineer at Danapur Municipal Council.
CBI registers FIR in NEET-UG paper leak case
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR in relation to the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam. On Saturday, the Ministry of Education handed over the case to the CBI "for transparency in the conduct of the examination process." As part of the investigation, CBI teams will later head to Bihar and Gujarat to investigate a "larger conspiracy" surrounding the NEET-UG exam, according to the Hindustan Times.
