NEET row escalates: Students stage protest at Jantar Mantar, march towards Parliament, around 80 detained

New Delhi: Following the paper leak controversy around the National Eligibility-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical undergraduates and the cancellation of UGC-NET due to "lack of integrity", the students staged a protest at Jantar Mantar recently. 

Scores of NSUI members gathered at Jantar Mantar to register their protest against the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam. According to PTI report, congress's student wing National Students' Union of India (NSUI) further planned to take out a march to gherao the Parliament on the day of the commencement of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha.

Following the speeches, NSUI members and NEET students marched towards Parliament. The protest escalated as demonstrators crossed police barricades, leading to a lathi charge by the police. Many NSUI members, were detained during the protest.

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 Amid the raging row, the Students' Federation of India (SFI), Tribal Students Union (TSU), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Tribal Youth Federation (TYF) also jointly organized a large-scale protest on Monday against 'rampant corruption in examinations that are held nationwide' and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The demonstrators, comprising thousands of students and youth, took to the streets to voice their outrage over the repeated instances of corruption that have jeopardized the futures of millions of students.

As per ANI report, The protesters assembled in major cities, holding placards and chanting slogans, demanding the immediate resignation of the Union Education Minister.

They argue that the "minister's failure to address the issues within the examination system has led to widespread disillusionment and frustration among students, whose dreams and futures are being unfairly compromised".

Similarly, representatives from the DYFI, TSU, and TYF echoed these sentiments, calling for immediate and concrete measures to be taken to restore faith in the examination process.

Protesting students highlighted the emotional and psychological toll on students who prepare rigorously, only to find their efforts undermined by corrupt practices.

The protest, which saw participation from students and youth across different regions, also included calls for "comprehensive reforms in the examination system". These reforms, they argue, are "essential to ensure transparency, fairness, and the protection of students' rights".

Palash Bhoumik, the state President of DYFI said that they are here to protest against this government.

"SFI, DYFI, and TSU have jointly come together to protest against this government. This government has ruined the total education system. We have organized a large-scale protest against the rampant corruption in nationwide examinations. The demonstrators, comprising thousands of students and youth, took to the streets to voice their outrage over the repeated instances of corruption that have jeopardized the futures of millions of students," he said.

The NTA, which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.

The CBI on Monday took over five new cases of alleged malpractices in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG that were being investigated by police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar, as the political storm intensified with the opposition gearing up to confront the government in Parliament on the paper leak issue.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider abolishing NEET, the national-level medical entrance exam introduced in 2013, and reverting to the system of states conducting the exam in the wake of the paper leak row.

Several opposition MPs said on the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha that the government will have to answer on the issue in Parliament as it is causing hardship to lakhs of students.

As Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan proceeded to take oath in Lok Sabha, members of the opposition shouted "NEET, NEET".

Officials at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the agency has re-registered one case each from Gujarat and Bihar and three cases from Rajasthan as its own FIR. It is also likely to take up another case from Maharashtra's Latur.

Barring the case from Bihar, the other four appear to be isolated incidents of impersonation and cheating by local officials, invigilators and candidates, the officials said.

This year's National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 Examination was mired in controversies after the allegations of paper leak came into light. Around 13 people, including four examinees and their family members, were arrested in Bihar for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of the NEET-UG exam. Patna police sources had previously claimed that the NEET-UG question papers along with their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the date of the exam i.e. May 5, 2024.

Then, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which took over the investigation, revealed that the brokers involved in the NEET paper leak scam took between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh from each of the medical aspirants in exchange for giving them the question paper of the NEET UG 2024 question paper ahead of the examination.

Multiple pleas have been filed before the High Courts and the Supreme Court seeking an investigation into the alleged paper leak scam. Some of the pleas demanded the scrapping of the NEET UG 2024 exam and holding a retest.

Meanwhile, NEET aspirants across the country have been protesting against the alleged paper leak issue in NEET UG 2024 and the National Testing Agency's policy of awarding grace marks to 1563 candidates. While finally the NTA decided to scrap the grace marks, the issue of alleged paper leak is still unsolved.

Although earlier, the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had denied such allegations of paper leak, recently he assured action against NTA officials if they were found guilty of the "irregularities" in the conduct of the MBBS entrance exam.

The NEET 2024 issue has now taken a political turn as opposition parties are accusing the government over the allegations of rigging, paper leaks, and corruption. Recently Congress leader Rahul Gandhi argued that the BJP-ruled states were the "epicentre of paper leak".

While hearing pleas concerning the NEET examination, the apex court had on June 18 said that even if there was "0.001 per cent negligence" on the part of anyone in the conduct of the examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.

The Apex Court had also sought responses from the Centre and the NTA on a plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in the exam.

Also read- NEET PG 2024: Health Ministry, NBE Officials Review Exam Process 2 Days After Postponement