Denied 'safe seat' by NC, Cong opts out from contesting RS polls in J&K
Srinagar (PTI): The president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, Tariq Hamid Karra, on Sunday said his party will not contest the October 24 Rajya Sabha elections to four seats in the Union territory in view of alliance partner National Conference refusing it a 'safe seat'.
Addressing mediapersons after a marathon meeting of party leaders here, Karra said it has been unanimously agreed that the Congress will not contest the Rajya Sabha polls.
The Congress central leadership sought one of the two Rajya Sabha seats that are going to polls separately but National Conference offered the party one of the two seats, which are going to polls under a common notification, Karra said.
"Keeping this in mind, all the participants (at the meeting) were of the opinion that seat four is not safe like seat one or two. It was unanimously decided that we will not put up our candidate for seat number four. We will leave it to our alliance partners to see what they think about that," Karra said.
"Since the safe seat was not offered to us, we don't want to contest on seat four," he added.
National Conference has already named its three candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls, indicating that it will use its strength in the Assembly to ensure all three emerge victorious.
While all three National Conference candidates are assured of victory even without the support of alliance partners, the fourth candidate of the ruling alliance will need every anti-BJP vote to ensure a clean sweep.
The three MLAs of the PDP, one each from People's Conference, Awami Ittehad Party and AAP will have to vote for the ruling party candidate to ensure victory on the fourth seat.
Karra said a marathon discussion took place about the working of the alliance, the Rajya Sabha polls and the by-elections to two Assembly seats -- Budgam and Nagrota.
"Some legislators had grievances with governance and administrative issues but today's meeting was about Rajya Sabha polls," he said.
The PCC chief said the bypolls in Jammu and Kashmir were also discussed during the meeting.
"Some points were put forward by the leaders. We will open our channels with the NC and talk to them. The inputs from our members will be sent to our central leadership for guidance," he added.
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Karnataka urges Centre to scrap NEET-UG from 2026, restore state powers to conduct CET
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Saturday reiterated its demand before the Centre to scrap the NEET-UG examination from the academic year 2026 onwards and restore the powers of states to conduct their own transparent and merit-based Common Entrance Tests.
State Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, in a statement, emphasised that Karnataka has a long-standing legacy of administering fair, transparent, student-friendly and merit-oriented entrance examinations through the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).
He noted that the CET system in Karnataka has for decades enabled lakhs of deserving students, especially from rural, middle-class and economically weaker sections, to secure professional education opportunities based on merit, hard work and academic consistency.
The minister said the Karnataka CET model has been widely appreciated for its transparency, accountability and efficient conduct, helping meritorious students shape their future with confidence and instilling faith among the younger generation in the integrity of the education system.
He said the NEET experience over the past several years has raised serious concerns across the country.
According to him, repeated allegations and incidents of question paper leaks, impersonation, organised cheating rackets, manipulation, technical irregularities and lack of adequate accountability have severely damaged the credibility of the examination process conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Pointing to recent controversies surrounding NEET examinations, the Minister said these issues have caused stress, uncertainty and mental trauma among students and parents. Repeated reports of malpractice expose the inability of central agencies to ensure a completely fair and foolproof examination system at the national level.
He added that confidence among students in the integrity of the examination process has been deeply shaken.
Stressing that medical education is a critical sector that determines the future healthcare strength of the country, Patil said admissions must be based on a system that is transparent, corruption-free and sensitive to regional and educational diversity.
He said a centralised examination model that repeatedly faces allegations of irregularities cannot be imposed on states that have demonstrated efficient and credible examination mechanisms.
The minister also highlighted that Karnataka’s CET system has successfully balanced merit with accessibility and ensured fair opportunities for students from all sections of society.
Patil said the state government has already written to the Government of India seeking the abolition of NEET and permission to conduct admissions through the Karnataka CET system.
He urged the Union government to respect the federal structure of the Constitution and allow states to conduct entrance examinations through credible agencies such as KEA.
Restoring the CET system would protect students’ interests and rebuild public confidence in the admission process, Patil said.
The minister reiterated that the state government will continue to pursue the matter in the interest of students, parents and the future of medical education in Karnataka.
