Priyanka Gandhi Slams Centre’s NEET-UG Move as ‘Attack on Youth Dreams’

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra weighed in on the controversy surrounding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-Undergraduate) exams, criticizing the BJP government for allegedly jeopardizing youth aspirations soon after assuming power.

Addressing the issue, Vadra remarked, “As soon as the new BJP government took oath, it again started attacking the dreams of the youth. The arrogant response of the Education Minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) on the irregularities in the NEET exam results completely ignores the cries of 24 lakh students and their parents. Does the Education Minister not see the facts available in the public domain?”

The NEET-UG exam, held on May 5 by the National Testing Agency (NTA) across 4,750 centers for nearly 24 lakh students, has come under scrutiny due to allegations of leaked papers and controversial grace marks. Vadra criticized the government for overlooking youth concerns, stating, “The question is, who does the government want to save in the system by ignoring lakhs of youth and their parents? Shouldn’t the dreams of the youth stop being sacrificed at the altar of this corrupt examination system?”

She emphasized the need for the government to address student and parent grievances seriously, urging, “The BJP government should abandon its ego and think seriously about the future of the youth and take measures to curb corruption in examinations.”

Meanwhile, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Digvijay Singh demanded a thorough investigation into the NEET-UG irregularities, describing it as a serious scam. He insisted, “My demand is that the entire examination should be cancelled and it should be held as soon as possible and a completely impartial inquiry should be conducted into this matter under the new law passed by the Parliament and the culprits should be given the harshest punishment.”

Singh further criticized the functioning of the NTA, stating, “The scam in NEET (UG)-2024 is extremely serious. This is the gigantic national form of the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, which not only casts doubt on the functioning of the National Examination Agency (NTA) but also shows it to be faulty and full of corruption.”

In response to the ongoing issues, the NTA informed the Supreme Court about its decision to cancel the scorecards of 1563 candidates who received grace marks in the NEET-UG exam. These students will have an opportunity to retake the exam on June 23, with results expected before June 30.

Singh raised concerns over fairness, questioning, “1,563 students went to court over the dispute of having two different answers to the questions and were given grace marks. So, was injustice not done to those students who could not go to court?”

He also criticized the allocation of grace marks and raised questions on the conduct of the examination in various states, urging transparency and accountability in the process.