'Will take strictest action, CBI going to catch everyone', assures Union Education Minister over NEET Controversy
New Delhi: Amid the raging row over the paper leak controversy around the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) due to ''lack of integrity,'' Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has assured that strictest action will be taken against the guilty and CBI is going to catch everyone involved. He further said that the discussion must happen within tradition and decorum.
"The government is ready for every kind of discussion, but everything should happen within tradition and decorum. When the President herself spoke about the exam in her speech yesterday, it showed the government's intention that we are ready to face any issue... The government's responsibility is towards the youth of the country, towards the students of the country... The government is ready to put forth its side, then what is the confusion? ... We are going to take the strictest action and the CBI is going to catch everyone, we will not spare anyone. A credible high-level committee has also been formed for reform, soon the date of all those exams will also be announced. I also request the opposition to come out of politics and join the discussion," said Dharmendra Pradhan, quotes ANI.
"We are not going to spare anyone. Those who were in charge of NTA have been removed and the responsibility has been given to senior officials. All this is proof of the government's commitment... I want to appeal to the opposition that they should not confuse the students..." he added.
The opposition however is adamant on its demand to enforce a discussion on the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.
Rajya Sabha LoP and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Under Rule 267 we are demanding a special discussion on it in the House, and after that, we will state our demands."
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda said, "The future of the youth has been spoiled due to the continuous paper leaks in the country. The maximum number of paper leak cases have been seen in Haryana. The paper was leaked in the NEET exam and the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is running away from responsibility. We had brought up a discussion on this and when it was raised in the House, the mike was switched off. If the mike of the Leader of the Opposition is switched off, then there will be anger among other opposition MPs and the same happened in the House. We demand that this issue be discussed."
Notably, for the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 23 registered a criminal case over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination by the NTA and formed special teams to probe the matter.
As per the agency's FIR, certain "isolated incidents" occurred in a few states during the conduct of the NEET (UG) 2024 examination, which was held on May 5, 2024.
This year's NEET UG 2024 exam was mired in controversies after a paper leak scam came to the light. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that 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, during the case proceedings, NTA earlier decided to withdraw the grace marks awarded to 1563 candidates and hold an optional retest for those candidates. Those who did not opt for the retest were allowed to retain their original marks, without the grace marks.
The matter is now being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Central Government on June 22, 2024, handed over the charge of investigation in the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG 2024 examination to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"Certain cases of alleged irregularities / cheating / impersonation / malpractices have been reported. For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India after a review has decided to entrust the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for comprehensive investigation," the Ministry of Education stated in a release.
