LoP Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi to facilitate and lead debate on NEET row in Parliament

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate a debate on the NEET issue in Parliament on Wednesday and said it will be fitting if the PM leads the discussion in the interests of students.

Rahul's letter comes days after the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc demanded a dedicated discussion on the NEET paper leak and other irregularities leading to vociferous protests in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. However, Lok Sabha adjourned sine die on Tuesday itself after the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address was adopted.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar had denied permission on Friday and Monday but told the Opposition to use the opportunity of debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address to raise the issue.

In his letter to Modi, he said the Speaker has given an assurance to the Opposition that he would discuss with the government about their demand. He disapproved of the move to postpone other examinations and replace the Director of National Testing Agency, saying it was a "move to cover up the systemic breakdown" of the centralised testing system.

"Our students deserve answers. A Parliamentary debate is the first step towards rebuilding and restoring their faith. Given the urgency of the matter, I request the government to facilitate a debate in the House tomorrow (Wednesday). It would be fitting if you were to lead this debate in the interest of the students," he said.

He said the Opposition's aim is to engage constructively to find a way forward and at this moment, their only concern is the welfare of nearly 24 lakh NEET aspirants across the country. Lakhs of families have made tremendous personal sacrifices to support their children and for many the paper leak is a "betrayal of their lifetime dream", he said.

"Today these students and their families are looking up to us, their public representatives, to take bold and decisive steps to resolve the issue. The NEET examination deserves immediate attention because it has exposed the deep rot in our higher education system. The past seven years have seen over 70 paper leaks, affecting over two crore students," he said.

The NEET-UG exam conducted by the NTA had run into trouble over paper leak and granting of grace marks to some aspirants, leading to cancellation of the exam.