The Congress today reiterated its demand for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the scam in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
The party rejected the investigations being carried out by the NTA, saying how it can conduct a probe against itself and how fair it will be.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here today, senior party leader and MP Gaurav Gogoi questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on such a sensitive matter, where the future of 24 lakh students from across the country was at stake.
Gogoi said, so far the government had only said that it will cancel the grace marks of 1563 students offering them a second chance to take a retest on June 23. He said the government has not come out with any proposal to address other discrepancies and doubts among the students.
The senior Congress leader pointed out, that there were videos in the public domain claiming that question papers and particular questions were available for a particular amount between Rs 10 to Rs 40 lakhs.
He said, all this needed to be independently probed and the NTA cannot do it. He pointed out, that it is the NTA, that conducted the test and the allegations are against the agency (NTA) itself. How can the agency investigate the charge against itself, he asked, while emphasizing the need for the SC-monitored probe.
Gogoi pointed out that while the Prime Minister used to hold ‘pariksha pe charcha’ before the elections, why was he maintaining silence now? He said the Prime Minister was too preoccupied, first with the oath-taking ceremony and now with his foreign visits while the future of 24 lakh students was at stake.
He pointed out, the students were feeling so desperate and helpless that some of them were even committing suicide.
Referring to some obvious discrepancies in the NEET results, he said, some students have scored 718 and 719 marks, which is not possible according to the formula adopted by the NTA. Besides, he added, 67 students scored hundred per cent marks. He also asked what was the criterion for providing grace marks to some students and not to others.
Gogoi asserted that the Congress party was performing its duty and would ensure to hold the government accountable. He pointed out, that the first issue raised by the senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the election was about the NEET scam only.
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